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XP Power

xpp · LSE Financial Services
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FY2015 Annual Report · XP Power
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XP POWER
ANNUAL REPORT & ACCOUNTS 
for the year ended 31 December 2015

stock code: XPP

24637.04    1 March 2016 1:11 PM   Proof 6

OUR vALUES

CUSTOMER 
FOCUS

CUSTOMER FOCUS  WhAT ThAT MEANS TO US... 

Always considering our customer’s experience in 
everything we do

Never forgetting that without our customer we do not 
have a business

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5For further information visit  
www.xppower.com

1

CONTENTS

STRATEGIC REPORT
02  Financial and Operational Highlights
03  Our Investment Proposition
04  Chairman’s Statement 
07  EMCO Acquisition
08  XP Power at a Glance
10  Our Strategy
12  Our Business Model
14  Our Marketplace
15  Our Growth Drivers 
17  Vietnam Power Supply Story
18  Our Commitments to Sustainability
20  Our Customers  
21 
22  Our Suppliers
23  Our Communities
24  Our Environment
OUR PERFORMANCE
28  Operating and Financial Review
32  Our Key Performance Indicators
34  Managing Our Risks
39  Case Study  

 Our People and Their Health and Safety

GOvERNANCE REPORT
40 

 Chairman’s Introduction  
to Governance
 Directors and Officers

42 
44  Corporate Governance Report
48  Audit Committee Report
50  Remuneration Committee Report
51 
55 
62 

 Remuneration Policy
 Remuneration Annual Report
 Other Governance and  
Statutory Disclosures

63  Statement by Directors

FINANCIALS
64 
70 

Independent Auditor’s Report
 Consolidated Statement of 
Comprehensive Income
71  Consolidated Balance Sheet
72 

73 
74 

 Consolidated Statement of Changes 
in Equity
 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
 Notes to the Consolidated  
Financial Statements
104 Company Balance Sheet
105  Notes to the Company Balance Sheet
114 Five Year Review
115 Advisers

in an environment of relatively subdued market 
growth for industrial electronics, we continue to 
grow and capture market share. we achieve this by 
being customer focused and ensuring we remain an 
attractive power partner to our customers through 
the products and innovation we offer.

our people, across the three continents where we 
have a presence, lie at the heart of our success. our 
lean, flat, fast and flexible structure allows delivery of 
excellent service and support and these are the key 
ingredients for our continued growth.

as part of our continued drive for improvement, we 
have this year defined our Core values and carried out 
an extensive employee engagement exercise. these 
have been immensely rewarding and insightful and 
will continue to help shape our future progression.

For our 2015 annual report we have structured 
our theme around our Core values of INTEGRITY, 
KNOWLEDGE, FLEXIBILITY, SPEED and CUSTOMER 
FOCUS, demonstrating how intrinsically linked these 
are to our DNA and ongoing success.

Duncan Penny
Chief Executive

CUSTOMER 
FOCUS

KNOWLEDGE

FLEXIBILITY

SPEED

INTEGRITY

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5HeadingSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTFINANCIAL AND OPERATIONAL  
hIGhLIGhTS IN 2015

Order Intake
(£ millions)

+5%

(+1% in constant 
currency)

2

Gross  
Margin
(%)

103.4

98.3

96.6

103.7

105.1

110.5

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

48.0

49.1

47.8

49.1

49.6

49.8

Revenue
(£ millions)

+9%

(+4% in constant 
currency)

Operating 
Margin (%)

103.6

101.1

101.1

109.7

91.8

93.9

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

24.4

24.2

23.0

23.2

21.5

22.4

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Earnings per 
Share (pence)
(after adjusting for 
one-off costs) 

+3%

106.4

101.1

104.3

95.1

83.7

81.3

Dividend per 
Share (pence)
+8%

66

61

55

50

45

33

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

OPERATIONAL hIGhLIGhTS
 } Revenues increased by 9% (4% in constant currency) to £109.7 
million (2014: £101.1 million), setting a new record for the Group

 } Power converter manufacturing at the Vietnam facility now at  

break-even following ramp-up in production volumes

 } Revenues from XP Power’s own-designed products increased  

by 11% (7% in constant currency) to £74.6 million  
(2014: £67.2 million) to reach a record 68% of revenue

 } Acquisition of EMCO enables the Group to enter the high voltage 
DC-DC module market – a significant growth opportunity, with 
multiple customer synergies already identified 

 } Sales of high efficiency products increased by 27% to £23.6 
million (2014: £18.6 million), representing 22% of revenues 

 } Total dividend for the year increased by 8% to 66 pence per 

share (2014: 61 pence per share)

 } Record order intake of £110.5 million (2014: £105.1 million) – an 

increase of 5% (1% in constant currency)

We have recently redesigned our corporate and 
commercial websites. Both have been designed to 
be responsive to multiple devices from desktop to 
mobile; you can always keep in touch and find out 
more details on XP Power at www.xppower.com

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5OUR INvESTMENT PROPOSITION

exposure to a broad cross section of end markets – industrial, 
healthcare and technology – but with no direct exposure to 
consumer electronics. Read more on page 14

a diverse customer base of over 3,500 active  
customers, with no one customer accounting for more  
than 7% of revenue. Read more on page 14

a growing penetration of a global,  
blue chip customer base. Read more on page 15

Powerful customer relationship management tools  
which allow the efficient management of our customer  
base and identification of pricing and product trends that  
enable the development of appropriate, innovative  
new products. Read more on page 30

Attractive margins and lower capital investment requirements 
when compared to many manufacturing industries, resulting in 
strong free cash flow and margins that are amongst the highest 
in the industry. Read more on pages 31

Revenue annuity – although design cycles are often long,  
once our power converters are approved for use in our 
customer’s end equipment, XP Power enjoys a revenue annuity 
for the lifetime of the customer’s equipment, which is  
typically seven years. Read more on page 13

an established pipeline of new class leading “green”  
products which operate at high efficiency. Read more on pages 18 and 32

Progressive dividend – the business model  allows for a 
progressive dividend, which is paid quarterly. Read more on page 13

3

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5HeadingSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTChAIRMAN’S STATEMENT

“2015 was another year of significant progress; we achieved 
record order intake and reported revenues. We expanded the 
Group with two acquisitions, one of which gives us an exciting 
foothold in the high voltage DC-DC module market. We 
ramped-up power converter production in our Vietnam facility. 
Our business systems have been further upgraded and we 
have totally revamped our website to provide significant 
functionality improvements to our customers.”

4

James Peters Chairman

22 February 2016

Our Progress in 2015
2015 was another year of significant 
progress; despite challenging economic 
conditions for the industrial electronics 
markets. Initial indications are that the 
market declined in 2015, but against this 
backdrop, I am pleased to report that the 
Group achieved record levels of order intake 
and reported revenues. We expanded the 
Group with two acquisitions, the larger of 
which gives us an exciting foothold in 
the high voltage DC-DC module market. 
We also ramped-up power converter 
production in our Vietnam facility, giving 
us a cost advantage over many of our 
competitors. Our business systems 
have been further upgraded and we 
have relaunched our website to provide 
significant functionality improvements to 
our customers. In addition, we have further 
strengthened our Board, setting the stage 
for the next phase of our development.

Results
Our financial performance for the year  
was encouraging. Revenues were a record  
£109.7 million (2014: £101.1 million), an 
increase of 9% (4% in constant currency). 
Order intake was £110.5 million 
(2014: £105.1 million), setting a new record 
for the Group and representing an increase 
of 5% (1% in constant currency). 

Gross margin improved to 49.8% (2014: 
49.6%) due to improved product mix and 
despite start-up costs associated with 
power converter production in Vietnam of 
approximately £0.3 million and continued 
labour cost appreciation in China. 

Profit before tax was £25.7 million, after 
adjusting for £0.3 milion of one-off costs 
associated with acquisitions, an increase of 
6% over the £24.3 million reported in 2014. 
The adjusted diluted earnings per share 
increased by 3% to 104.3 pence (2014: 
101.1 pence).

Acquisitions
On 25 November 2015 we announced the 
acquisition of the assets and business of 
EMCO, a specialist in high voltage  
DC-DC modules, for a total consideration of 
US$11.7 million (£7.7 million) paid in cash 
on completion. 

EMCO is based in Northern California, 
with manufacturing operations in Nevada, 
and supplies the industrial and healthcare 
sectors with a broad range of standard, 
modified and custom high voltage products. 

We are delighted to welcome EMCO to the 
XP Power Group and are excited about 
the opportunity of offering its high voltage 
DC-DC modules suitable for an array of 
applications through our well established 
sales channel. As well as bringing a number 
of exciting new customers, this acquisition 
will enable us to provide our existing 
customers with a comprehensive product 
offering in high voltage technologies, a 
market segment with robust demand 
fundamentals and one in which we did not 
previously specialise. We are confident that 
EMCO will have a very successful future as 
part of XP Power.

Strengthening our Board
We continued the process of strengthening 
our Board of Directors during the year.

Terry Twigger joined our Board with effect 
from 1 January 2015. Terry is the Senior 
Non-Executive Director, Chairman of the 
Audit Committee and a member of the 
Nomination Committee and Remuneration 
Committee. As the former CEO of Meggitt 
PLC, Terry has a wealth of international 
and public company experience in the 
engineering sector, including numerous 
successful acquisitions. 

I am also pleased to welcome Polly Williams, 
who joined our Board from 1 January 
2016 as a Non-Executive Director. Polly, a 
chartered accountant, is a former partner 
at KPMG LLP and holds a number of non-
executive directorship roles, including at 
Jupiter Fund Management plc, TSB Group 
plc and Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Ltd. 
Polly will chair XP Power’s Remuneration 
Committee and is a member of the Audit 
Committee.

Following these new appointments John 
Dyson will not be offering himself for 
re-election at the forthcoming Annual 
General Meeting. I would like to take this 
opportunity to thank John for his significant 
contribution to XP Power over the last 
16 years.

With these latest appointments, we 
consider that the Board now has the 
appropriate experience and capabilities to 
take our Company to the next level of its 
development.

Dividend
Our continued strong financial performance, 
strong cash flows and confidence in the 
Group’s long term prospects have enabled 
us to increase dividends consistently over a 
sustained period. In line with our progressive 
dividend policy, the Board is recommending 
a final dividend of 24 pence per share for 
the fourth quarter of 2015. This dividend will 
be payable to members on the register on 
11 March 2016 and will be paid on 4 April 
2016. 

When combined with the interim dividends 
for the previous quarters, the total dividend 
for the year will be 66 pence per share 
(2014: 61 pence), an increase of 8%. 

The compound average growth rate of our 
dividend has been 15% per annum over the 
last five years.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 55

Our people and our values
The success of an organisation is 
dependent on the people and talent within 
it. We have significant strength and depth 
within our Company, with the majority of 
our executives having impressive lengths 
of service, and we have now gained new 
talent with the acquisition of EMCO. We 
also conducted an employee cultural survey 
to assess our people’s perspective on our 
strengths and where we can improve. I 
was pleased that one of the main findings 
from our 2015 employee survey was that 
our employees are proud to be part of 
our Company, highlighting the significant 
engagement we have with our colleagues.

During 2015 we undertook an exercise to 
identify and distil the key aspects of the XP 
Power culture that has made our Company 
successful over a long period of time. Core 
values of integrity, knowledge, flexibility, 
speed and customer focus were identified 
as the key ingredients. These characteristics 
are part of our DNA and have been 
responsible for driving our performance and 
customer service commitment over the long 
term.

Sustainability
Sustainability is extremely important to our 
people and our customers. We punch well 
above our weight in this regard and set 
ourselves the aspirational goal of leading 
our industry regarding environmental and 
sustainability matters. This is reflected 
in the work we have done to produce a 
portfolio of ultra-high efficiency products 
which consume less energy, use less 
material and do not contain substances 
which are harmful to the environment. 
These XP “Green” Power products grew 
at an impressive rate of 27% in 2015 and 
represented 22% of total revenue for the 
2015 financial year.

Our Vietnam facility is the most 
environmentally friendly factory in the 
industry with well-insulated building 
envelope, incorporating ultra-efficient air 
conditioning, low energy lighting, water 
capture and recycling, as well as a solar 
panel array. This is not only important to 
our customers but resonates with our 
employees. 

We are building a sustainable business 
that can grow and prosper in the long 
term through providing genuine value to 
our customers, treating and rewarding our 
people appropriately and adhering to our 
business ethics.

Outlook
We are encouraged by the stronger order 
intake experienced in the fourth quarter 
of 2015 following the weakness we saw 
in the North American order intake in the 
third quarter and by the progress of the 
integration of EMCO. Despite the mixed 
global economic picture, we have positive 
momentum and therefore expect further 
growth in revenues in 2016.

We now have a new high voltage product 
offering which we believe we can grow 
using our direct sales channel and approved 
supplier status with our existing customer 
base. We also have a strong balance 
sheet and a business model that provides 
excellent cash generation to fund the 
existing Group and targeted acquisitions 
to further broaden our product offering and 
engineering capabilities. 

James Peters 
Chairman

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR vALUES

6

KNOWLEDGE

KNOWLEDGE  WhAT ThIS MEANS TO US... 

Delivering genuine value to our customers through 
our knowledge and experience

Continually developing our skills and capabilities as 
individuals and as an organisation

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5EMCO ACqUISITION

7

Providing our customers 
high voltage technologies
The acquisition of EMCO provides us with 
a portfolio of high voltage power modules 
that we can offer to our existing customers. 
In addition, the acquisition brings with it a 
number of new customers to which we can 
now offer our comprehensive range of 
AC-DC product.

High voltage power modules are used in 
a multitude of healthcare, industrial and 
technology applications and we are very 
excited to have access to this product line. 
EMCO has a similar product strategy to 
XP Power in that it has a broad array of 
standard products but can also produce fast 
turn modifications of its standard products 
for individual customer applications. 

High voltage is a specialist area and EMCO 
has a talented engineering team.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTXP POWER AT A GLANCE

XP Power’s portfolio of innovative, ultra-high efficient products  
is helping the world’s leading manufacturers to create technologies 
and products.

Our power converters live inside the world’s critical systems, taking the electrical mains supply from the grid and converting it into the correct 
form of electricity to power our customers’ equipment in critical applications in the industrial, healthcare and technology industries.

Our long term investment in research and development has resulted in the broadest, most up to date product portfolio in the industry and 
has positioned XP Power as a key partner for the world’s leading manufacturers of critical capital equipment.

8

NORTH 
AMERICA
17 Sales Offices
51%

OF REVENUE

EUROPE

9 Sales Offices
41%

OF REVENUE

ASIA

5 Sales Offices

8%

OF REVENUE

Our global reach, helping insulate us from market volatility

NORTh AMERICA
The North American network consists of 17 
sales offices and an extensive engineering 
services function based in Northern 
California. This network allows XP Power to 
provide its major customers with local, face 
to face support and rapid response times.

EUROPE
In Europe, the XP Power network consists 
of nine sales offices and a further nine 
distributor offices. A direct sales office was 
added in Israel early in 2015. In addition, 
XP Power has engineering services centres 
in Germany and the UK.

ASIA
We have five direct sales offices in Asia run 
from Singapore, where we also manage a 
network of seven distributors serving the 
region. A direct sales presence was added 
in Japan during the year. We also acquired 
a majority stake in a Korean value added 
distributor during the year.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for page

Or caption

Power of our Global Reach
Our customers manufacture capital equipment and we target the healthcare, industrial and technology markets. We do not 
have any direct exposure to consumer electronics or high volume low margin business seen in the computing and data centre 
industries. The equipment our products power is often mission critical so quality and reliability are paramount.

Increasingly, the design and manufacturing process of major international OEMs takes place across different continents, with 
these blue chip companies demanding global support. In response, XP Power has established an international network of 
offices which offers the necessary customer support across technical sales, design engineering, logistics and operations. This 
network gives XP Power a strong competitive advantage over both its smaller competitors, who do not have the scale and 
geographic reach to serve global customers, and its larger competitors, who often lack the operational flexibility to provide 
excellent service and speed. We believe that this balance is key to our success in winning new contracts and offers XP Power 
the opportunity to further increase its market share. 

9

NORTH 

NORTH 

AMERICA

AMERICA

17 Sales Offices

17 Sales Offices

51%

51%

OF REVENUE

OF REVENUE

EUROPE

EUROPE

9 Sales Offices

9 Sales Offices

41%

41%

OF REVENUE

OF REVENUE

ASIA

ASIA
5 Sales Offices
5 Sales Offices
8%
8%

OF REVENUE

OF REVENUE

Meeting our customers’ requirements  
with our powerful offering

Broad, leading-edge product line with 
ultra-high efficiency

Class leading customer service and 
support through highly knowledgeable 
and experienced sales team (the largest 
in the industry) and power systems 
engineers

Class leading manufacturing ensuring 
excellent quality, reliability and 
competitive cost

Engineering on three continents 
providing excellent design support 
during design in to reduce time to 
market

NORTH
AMERICA

EUROPE

ASIA

UP

0.7

%

UP

6.9 %

UP

8.7 %

2014 revenue 
US$84.9 million
2015 revenue 
US$85.5 million

2014 revenue 
GB£42.2 million
2015 revenue 
GB£45.1 million

2014 revenue 
US$12.6 million
2015 revenue 
US$13.7 million

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTEXECUTING OUR STRATEGY – OUR SIX INITIATIvES

XP Power has followed a clear and consistent strategy of moving up the value chain, 
powered by six strategic initiatives. Our strategy point of increasing the contribution 
of our own designed/own manufactured product has been achieved, with over 68% of 
our product now coming from this source.
The portion of our revenue coming from own designed/own manufactured product is 
expected to naturally increase from current levels. As we enter 2016 we are placing 
emphasis on productivity as a new strategy point and in particular are looking at lean 
principles across the organisation to enhance our performance.

Development of a strong pipeline 
of leading-edge products

Expansion of our high  
efficiency “green” products

10

Targeting key accounts and 
increasing the penetration of 
existing key accounts

Our progress in 2015
We released 22 new product families in 
2015 (2014: 26 new product families).

New releases included the GCS265 and 
GCS350 series which extend our popular 
GCS180 and GCS250 product lines 
upwards in power. With the acquisition of 
EMCO (see page 7) we added high voltage 
modules to our product portfolio.

Plans for 2016
 ¼ Further product releases including 

“green” products are planned for 2016, 
including new product families in areas 
we do not currently cover

 ¼ Search for further suitable bolt on 

acquisitions to expand our product 
portfolio

how we’ll measure our success

New product families released 

38

31

31

19

26

22

Revenue from “green” products increased 
by 27% to £23.6 million representing 22% 
of revenues (2014: £18.6 million or 18% 
of revenues), setting a new record for the 
Group.

Revenue from the top 30 customers 
represented 44% of revenue (2014: 40%).

 ¼ Further “green” product releases are 

 ¼ Continue to grow our share of 

planned for 2016 which should continue 
to drive further revenue growth

customers’ business where we are 
preferred or approved suppliers

 ¼ In addition we have a number of 

successful design wins of “green” 
products released in 2015 which we 
expect will enter production and drive 
revenues in 2016

“Green” product revenue  
(£ millions)

Revenue from top 30 customers 
(%)

23.6

18.6

13.7

8.1

5.0

2.8

38

38

40

40

40

44

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Linkage to our Core Values

Linkage to our Core Values

Linkage to our Core Values

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5OUR VISION

To inspire our people to be the experts in power 
delivering genuine value for our customers.

Enhancing our value proposition 
to our customers by becoming a 
manufacturer

Increasing the high margin 
contribution of our own designed/
manufactured products

Leading our industry on 
environmental matters

11

In 2012 we became more vertically 
integrated when we started manufacture of 
magnetic components in our Vietnamese 
facility. This gives us access to lower costs 
and quicker lead times for these critical 
components.

In 2015 we ramped the production of 
complete power converters in our Vietnam 
factory, which will preserve our cost 
advantage and expand our capacity to meet 
customer demand. We consider that the 
transition to manufacturer is now complete.

In 2015 we manufactured a record  
1.4 million (2014: 1.3) million power 
converters.

We have seen a further increase in our own 
designed product in 2015 to £74.6 million or 
68% of revenue (2014: £67.2 million or 66% 
of revenue), setting a new record.

The majority of our revenues are now coming 
from own designed/own manufactured 
products. This metric is expected to naturally 
grow from this point. We therefore consider 
this strategy point to have been achieved.

 ¼ Continue the qualification of power 

converters in Vietnam

 ¼ Continue to ramp our magnetics 

production in Vietnam to maintain cost 
competitiveness

 ¼ Apply lean principles to reduce lead 

times of key product series and reduce 
manufacturing costs

 ¼ We have a number of product releases 
planned for 2016 which should allow 
us to continue the trend of growing the 
own designed/manufactured products in 
absolute terms and as a percentage of 
the overall revenue

 ¼ Our design win pipeline suggests this 

metric will continue to rise 

We continued to launch a number of high 
efficiency products, including the GCS265 
and GCS350 series products which bring 
high efficiency at lower cost points.

 ¼ We will continue to release products with 
class leading efficiency suitable for use in 
healthcare and industrial applications

Number of units manufactured 
(Thousands)

Own design revenue 
(£ millions)

795

761

895

993

1,302

1,352

64.2

67.2

74.6

59.2

57.7

44.1

Lifetime CO2 emission savings from 
“green” products 
(Tonnes, Thousands)

133

102

84

46

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2012

2013

2014

2015

Linkage to our Core Values

Linkage to our Core Values

Linkage to our Core Values

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR BUSINESS MODEL

Our model is to sell directly to our key customers, offering excellent service 
and support combined with a broad range of class leading products.

hOW WE  
Manage our relationships

hOW WE  
Add Value through the sales cycle

Our customers are at the heart of  
what we do
Our model is to sell directly to our key customers, offering 
excellent service and support combined with class leading 
products. 

12

We have carved out a leading position in our industry. An 
up-to-date, high efficiency product offering, delivered to our 
customers by one of the largest and most technically competent 
sales engineering team in the industry, backed up by highly 
skilled power systems engineers, combined with the safety 
and reliability benefits of world class manufacturing provide a 
compelling value proposition to our customers.

Having come from a sales and marketing background in our 
former incarnation as a distributor, then moved into design and 
then later into manufacturing, we have a unique understanding 
of our customers and the market compared to much of our 
competition.

Managing our supply chain carefully
The management of our supply chain is critical to our success. 
Quality and reliability are paramount to our customers, who 
often provide critical healthcare or industrial systems. For that 
reason we need excellent suppliers with high quality standards.

We have a rigorous approval process which looks at all aspects 
of a supplier before we engage with them. This not only includes 
a prospective supplier’s quality systems and standards, but 
also their financial viability and, of course, their environmental 
performance and treatment of their people.

We are a full member of the Electronic Industry Citizen Coalition 
(EICC) and have adopted the EICC Code of Conduct throughout 
our organisation. This not only deals with environmental 
standards but also treatment of people, health and safety and 
business ethics. 

Our customers demand excellent quality and security of supply 
and strong corporate social responsibility standards.

Our sales process is a technical sale, from XP Power sales engineer 
to customer design engineer. Our customers are typically experts in 
their field, whether it is a drug delivery device, a piece of complex 
factory control machinery or a high end communications device 
operating in a harsh environment. They will come to a company 
such as ours to recommend and help them design in a power 
converter to power their end system. 

Generally with larger customers it is not possible to engage on a 
specific opportunity until we are on an approved or preferred vendor 
list. This will involve being qualified by the customer’s technical, 
quality and purchasing teams and may often involve a physical audit 
of our quality systems and a factory audit.

Our sales cycle proceeds in defined steps as follows: 

IDENTIFICATION

PRODUCTION

QUOTATION

SALES CYCLE

APPROVAL

SAMPLE

1  IDENTIFICATION

A new design programme is identified at a customer where we are an 
approved or preferred vendor. This is typically quite late in the customer’s 
development cycle as they will not usually know the total power 
requirement until they have a working prototype system. 

2  qUOTATION

An XP Power sales person will work with the customer to understand the 
requirements, including the power requirements at different voltages, 
communication required between the power converter and end system, 
any specific safety agency requirements and the physical specification. XP 
Power will then advocate a solution and provide a quotation to the customer. 
This solution could be a modification of one of our standard products.

3  SAMPLE

One or more samples are provided to the customer for them to evaluate in 
their system. This is a critical stage of the sale and we often find that the 
first company providing a sample that works in the equipment will win the 
design slot. Speed is therefore of the essence.

4  APPROvAL

The power converter is approved for use in the customer system following 
their technical evaluation and external safety agency approval. This is 
generally the longest part of the sales cycle as the technical and safety 
evaluation are very time consuming for the customer. XP Power will often 
add value by providing technical assistance during this stage and it is 
not unusual for us to have a technical power systems engineer working 
directly with the customer.

5  PRODUCTION

The customer commences production of their product and XP Power’s 
revenue stream starts. This is typically around seven years depending on 
the application and end market. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5hOW WE  
Differentiate ourselves

Generating long-term revenue 
annuities and shareholder value

Our people
As in any business, the most important asset is our people. 
We have the largest, most technically trained sales force in the 
industry. Our customers deal directly with a sales engineer who 
can solve their power conversion problems. We do not put our 
key customers through distribution channels. We also provide 
global support.

Our executive management team, located on three different 
continents, is not only talented but, given a relatively young 
average age, has an impressive average length of service. The 
11 person executive management team have an average age of 
less than 45 and average length of service of over 15 years. The 
breadth and depth of experience and collective teamwork of our 
people deliver genuine value to our customers.

Our products
We have the broadest, most up-to-date product offering in 
the industry. Our products are specific to the requirements of 
the various industries we serve. Our philosophy is to provide 
highly flexible products which are easy to modify. This saves our 
customers the cost, time and risk of pursuing a fully customised 
solution. Our product portfolio has been enhanced with high 
voltage modules following the acquisition of EMCO.

Our design engineering
We have design engineering teams on three continents – this 
allows us to release the high volume of innovative new products 
required by this highly diversified industry. These products often 
have class leading energy efficiency and small footprints to 
meet the ever higher demands of our key customers. Additional 
engineering service teams in Germany, North America and the 
UK are able to provide value added services close to our key 
customers. We are able to provide modified product solutions 
which allow the customer to more easily integrate the power 
converter into their equipment, therefore delivering a cost saving.

Our “green” innovation
Environmental considerations are becoming increasingly 
important to our customers. There is strong demand for 
products that consume less material, including harmful 
chemicals, and power converters that consume less energy. Our 
product portfolio reflects this, with many products having class 
leading efficiencies and low standby power consumption.

Our manufacturing
Our Asian manufacturing bases in China and Vietnam are not 
only low cost but best in class. This capability is instrumental to 
winning new programmes with larger blue chip customers that 
require the ultimate in quality and reliability. We also offer highly 
competitive lead times and flexible logistics arrangements.

quality
Our stringent quality standards ensure the ultimate in quality 
and reliability. This is vital to our customers. This starts from 
the design phase right through to production and after sales 
support.

Generating revenue streams  
through strong annuities
Although the time from identification of a customer programme 
can be very long (typically 18 to 30 months), once the product 
is designed into our customers’ equipment we enjoy an ongoing 
revenue annuity for a large number of years. Typically this is around 
seven years but can be longer or shorter depending on the industry 
sector and particular application. Our pipeline of programme wins 
with significant customers continues to build.

Revenue lifecycle from ECM40/60 product family

13

£ million

8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0

1.0

0.0

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014 2015

Revenue

  Substantial revenue annuity
  Design in cycle typically 18 months
  2009 and 2012 dips due to market downturn and not typical

 XP “Green” Power product  
revenue growth
Progressive dividend policy
Our business model and clear strategy, consistently applied, has 
resulted in long term growth, profitability and strong free cash 
flow. This has enabled us to adopt a progressive approach to the 
dividend, which is paid quarterly.

 27%

10 year dividend history (pence per share)

61

66

55

50

45

18

20

21

33

22

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The compound average growth rate of the dividend per share has 
been 15% over both the last five years and over the last ten years. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORT 
OUR MARKETPLACE

We continue to develop a fresh portfolio of leading edge, ultra-high 
efficiency products, allowing us to take further market share. With the 
addition of high voltage modules into our portfolio from the acquisition of 
EMCO, we see further opportunities to grow our market share.

The markets we serve
We have a broad exposure to the 
Healthcare, Industrial and Technology 
Markets. We therefore have a diverse 
customer base of over 3,500 customers 
and approximately a further 5,000 
customers serviced through our distribution 
channels. 

14

We deal with the following proportions 
of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Equipment 
Manufacturers:

 } Healthcare 95%

 } Industrial 73%

 } Technology 69% 

The diversity of our business is a significant 
strength, with no one customer exceeding 
more than 7% of revenue. Further, there is 
no one dominant player in the markets we 
address due to the diversity of customer 
requirements. 

Revenue trends
Revenue trends by sector are set out below.

Industrial
Industrial Revenue (£ millions)

Healthcare
Healthcare Revenue (£ millions)

Technology
Technology Revenue (£ millions)

46.9

43.8

42.2

47.5

49.1

48.6

26.6

26.0

22.8

19.8

30.2

31.0

34.3

30.1

26.8

18.8

24.1

23.4

21.0

26.8

28.7

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Industrial remains our most diverse end market. There 
appears to be cyclical weakness in North America in 
this sector from the third quarter of 2015.

Further gains from corporate approvals at the major 
blue chip customers.

Technology continues to be the most cyclical sector 
but has swung back in 2015.

Revenue by geography is set out as follows expressed in US Dollars to highlight the underlying trends in 
North America and Asia.

North America
North America Revenue (US$ millions)

Europe
Europe Revenue (£ millions)

Asia
Asia Revenue (US$ millions)

69.3

78.3

71.8

78.4

84.9

85.5

33.6

45.4

41.4

40.8

43.7

42.2

45.1

14.8

12.2

11.5

13.7

12.6

47.9

8.7

7.1

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The North American market shows steady momentum 
driven by larger opportunities in blue chip accounts 
but appears to have experienced some cyclical 
weakness in the industrial sector from the third quarter 
of 2015.

The market in Europe remains mixed. It has been 
more difficult to grow in markets such as the UK 
where the Group already has a strong share and 
the programmes are more project based. However, 
despite the weak Euro, growth in Europe has been 
robust in 2015, particularly in central Europe. 

In prior years, the Asia business had benefitted from 
one usually large account which peaked in 2011 
and reduced to zero in 2013 when the programme 
went end of life. The Asian business is now showing 
steady growth from customers that place value on XP 
Power’s value proposition.

Market size and opportunity
We estimate that XP Power has a 6% share of the available global market.
North America

Europe

Asia

9.0% Share

11.6% Share

Total Market Value

£620
MILLION
XP Power Revenue
£55.7million

Total Market Value

£390
MILLION
XP Power Revenue
£45.1million

1.2% Share

Total Market Value

OF REVENUE
£740
MILLION
XP Power Revenue
£8.9million

Source: MicroTech Consultants 2015 Report

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5OUR GROWTh DRIvERS

Sign posting for page

Or caption

Driver

how we’re responding

Energy efficiency and reliability
The requirement from customers and legislation for products to consume and waste less energy 
is driving demand for more efficient power converters. This goes hand in hand with reliability for 
critical applications as ultra-high efficiency products do not require relatively unreliable fans to cool 
them, and cooler systems mean key components such as electrolytic capacitors have longer 
lifetimes.

Innovation
Our customers possess a competitive need to launch new products offering increased 
productivity and functionality whilst reducing harmful environmental impacts. In addition, our 
customers are trying to differentiate their products from their competitors which frequently results 
in different or new power conversion requirements.

New products
The diverse product requirements of XP Power’s target market provide opportunities to enter new 
niches and provide flexible solutions.

We have developed a portfolio of XP “Green” 
Power products with class leading efficiencies

With the acquisition of EMCO we now have 
four design centres around the globe

We have the broadest range of standard 
products in our industry which are designed 
to be easy to modify to power the customer’s 
specific application

15

Penetration
Our blue chip customer base provides good opportunities to win additional new product 
programmes from multiple engineering teams across the globe. We have gained corporate 
approval at many blue chip companies over the past few years. We now need to capitalise on 
these approvals and win a larger share of the business that is available.

High voltage modules from the acquisition 
of EMCO increase our available market and 
potential penetration of our existing accounts

Healthcare
A global population that is both increasing and ageing, coupled with increased legislation, is 
driving the deployment of more healthcare devices, particularly in the home. This in combination 
with new technologies and treatments becoming available makes healthcare an excellent sector 
for XP Power. The customers in this area demand the ultimate in quality and reliability and 
appreciate and value XP Power’s value proposition.

Proliferation of electronic devices
Electronic devices are becoming more and more pervasive in our lives as new technologies and 
innovation emerge. These devices require power converters to operate, expanding XP Power’s 
potential  markets.

Legislation
Our industry continues to be the subject of an increasing raft of legislation from numerous 
countries and standard setters relating to areas such as environmental impacts, safety 
requirements, and above all energy efficiency. The compliance costs of keeping up with 
this legislation favour a company the size of XP Power, where we are large enough to be 
able to devote resources to this yet agile enough to respond quickly with new products or 
documentation as required.

We have the broadest, most up to date range 
of medically approved power converters in our 
industry

We have the broadest range of standard 
products in our industry which are designed 
to be easy to modify to power the customer’s 
specific application

We have dedicated resources devoted to 
safety legislation

Capital equipment
Our products are designed into and power capital equipment and as such are subject to 
the capital equipment cycles. While industrial company investment in capital equipment has 
been subdued over recent history due to global economic conditions, new capital investment 
does generally lead to greater productivity and we consider that the medium and long term 
opportunities remain positive for capital equipment. This is particularly the case as we see labour 
costs rising significantly in emerging  markets.

We have the largest direct sales force in 
our industry together with the broadest 
product portfolio so are well positioned to 
take advantage of any recovery in the capital 
equipment markets

Expansion of “green” products
Climate change and emission of greenhouse gases is becoming a more significant issue as 
emerging countries develop and urbanise. XP Power has taken a leading role in developing ultra-
efficient products which consume and waste less energy and that are suitable for use in healthcare 
and industrial  applications.

We have developed a portfolio of XP “Green” 
Power products with class leading efficiencies 
and have the most environmentally friendly 
manufacturing facility in our industry

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR vALUES

16

FLEXIBILITY

FLEXIBILITY  WhAT ThIS MEANS TO US... 

Receptive to the needs of our customers to provide 
outstanding customer service

Willing to challenge the way we do things and adapt to 
constantly improve and innovate

Collaborating with our colleagues and customers for 
better results

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5vIETNAM POWER SUPPLY STORY

STRATEGIC REPORT

Bringing power converter 
production to our ho Chi 
Minh city facility
Our Vietnam facility started production of 
magnetic windings for use in our power 
converters in 2012. In 2015 the volume of 
magnetics has continued to ramp and  
4.3 million magnetic windings were 
produced in Vietnam during 2015 (2014:  
3.6 million). In the fourth quarter of 2014 
the first complete power converters were 
built in our Vietnam facility and during 2015 
production has continued to ramp and 
over 0.2 million power converters were 
produced. 

The quality of the products produced has 
been excellent and we expect production 
volumes to continue to ramp in 2016 as 
more products are transferred to that facility 
and the portion of our own manufactured 
product continues to advance.

Our Vietnam facility demonstrates our 
attitude to the environment as it is the most 
environmentally friendly manufacturing 
facility in our industry and the first industrial 
building to achieve the Gold Plus rating from 
the BCA Green Mark Scheme, the leading 
environmental standard set by 

the Singapore Building and Construction 
Authority for non-residential buildings in 
tropical climates. This rating covers not only 
energy efficiency of the building but also 
water efficiency, environmental protection, 
indoor environmental quality and other 
“green” features and innovations.

Our production lines are set up for our 
high mix/low volume business profile. The 
production process is designed for high mix 
and fast line change, taking advantage of 
technology such as electronically controlled 
operating instructions. This approach 
creates the flexibility our customers value 
from dealing with XP Power.

17

Our Vietnam facility is the most 
environmentally friendly manufacturing 
facility in our industry and the first industrial 
building to achieve the Gold Plus rating from 
the BCA Green Mark Scheme, the leading 
environmental standard set by the Singapore 
Building and Construction Authority for non-
residential buildings in tropical climates.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015OUR COMMITMENTS TO SUSTAINABILITY

“We have again successfully launched ultra-high efficiency 
converters within our product portfolio. These “Green 
XP Power” products, combined with having a leading 
Environmental Friendly Manufacturing Facility, help 
distinguish us within the industry. This is good for the 
environment and also sound business practice, providing 
us with a commercial advantage.”

18

Sean Ross environmental Committee Chairman and vice President of Quality assurance

22 February 2016

What we stand for
We are fully committed to leading our 
industry on corporate social responsibility 
matters. We believe we play a pivotal role 
in the world of industrial and healthcare 
electronics where our ultra-high efficiency 
products can save energy and reduce 
greenhouse gas emissions year after year.

We have again successfully launched 
ultra-high efficiency converters within our 
product portfolio. These “Green XP Power” 
products, combined with having a leading 
Environmental Friendly Manufacturing 
Facility, help distinguish us within the 
industry. This is good for the environment 
and also sound business practice, providing 
us with a commercial advantage.

An environmental committee has been 
established which helps us achieve 
our vision of leading our industry on 
environmental matters. To promote these 
ideas, local volunteer representatives within 
the organisation promote this vision to all 
of our employees. There is representation 
at all of our core locations throughout Asia, 
Europe and North America. This group 
meets periodically to help share best 
practices and ideas for future engagement 
within the community and ensure that we as 
an organisation are encouraging responsible 
environmental behaviour. 

“Green” product revenue
 (£ million)

23.6

18.6

13.7

8.1

5.0

2.8

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Managing our impacts
We performed an internal assessment of all 
facets of our business to determine which 
have the most significant impact on the 
environment. The review concluded that 
the greatest contributor to environmental 
protection is in the power converter 
products we are providing to our customers. 
Therefore we continue to design, develop 
and promote ultra-high efficiency products 
within our standard product portfolio. 

Our sustainability strategy

Power Supply “A”

XP Power Supply

The amount of inefficiency can vary 
depending on the type of electronic power 
conversion product. XP Power’s strategy 
is to focus on those power converters 
with technology that is used to provide 
industry leading efficiencies. This helps 
reduce the amount of wastage and heat 
loss during operation within a customer’s 
end application. In some instances the 
power supplies we have designed are 
upwards of 95% efficient, which is a 
significant difference from modern power 
supply converters which can average 
around 80% efficient. To further expand on 
the significance and the impact of a 15% 
difference in efficiency, the following example 
is provided: 

Utilising Power Supply “A” would require 
input power of 125 Watts to provide  
100 Watts of output power as there is 
wastage of 25 Watts. 

Utilising XP Power Supply would require 
input power of 105 Watts to provide 100 
Watts of output power as there is wastage 
of 5 Watts.

These “Green XP Power” products require 
less energy, consume less material and 
are void of hazardous substances. We 
continue to promote these products to our 
customers. By doing so, these products 
help with maximising energy savings during 
the entire lifetime of the customer’s end 
product. 

With that said, we also continue to ensure 
we are adopting the best practices in all 
of our facilities and continually promoting 
awareness of environmental issues.

Efficiency

80%

95%

Power
Wastage

Power 
Requirement

25%

5%

100 Watts

100 Watts

The wastage-heat as highlighted above is 
calculated in Watts. There is a significant 
5X difference and the overall potential for 
savings across the lifetime of electronic 
equipment. To capture these gains 
requires a greater number of higher cost 
components and more complex circuits. 

The return on investment of a higher 
efficiency product can be captured in terms 
of the consumption of electricity. The full 
payback on electricity costs is usually within 
the first year of use. Therefore, we continue 
to promote and encourage these high 
efficiency products within our internal and 
external customers.

XP Power believes that the ongoing market 
trend through legislation for higher efficiency 
products will continue in the electronics 
industry. It is anticipated that these 
legislation requirements will be extended 
from consumer or office equipment, to be 
applied to industrial and healthcare markets 
that we serve. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 519

Our key achievements  
in 2015 
We continue to see an increase in our 
revenues from our “Green XP Power” 
product offering. In 2015 we shipped a 
record £23.6 million of high efficiency 
products representing 22% of our revenues. 
This is an increase of £5 million from fiscal 
year 2014 when we shipped £18.6 million or 
18.4% of revenue. 

The annual savings in CO2 emissions from 
these products compared to a standard 
80% efficient converter are highly significant. 
We estimate that the emission savings 
from the “Green XP Power” converters we 
sold in 2015 total 19,000 tonnes annually. 
The annual savings will recur each year 
for the lifetime of the product, which we 
estimate conservatively as seven years. 
This would result in lifetime savings of an 
incredible 133,000 tonnes of CO2. This 
clearly illustrates the massive scale of the 
opportunity to reduce harmful emissions 
from using our “Green XP Power” products. 
This example applies to just one year of 
shipments; the potential cumulative effect of 
multiple years of shipments of our “green” 
products is highly compelling.

Our plans for the year ahead 
The focus will be to continue to add industry 
leading “Green XP Power” products to our 
product portfolio. There are a number of 
new products that we anticipate will be 
launched in the coming year which will meet 
customer and market expectations with 
ultra-high efficiency.

Our key stakeholders
In order to communicate our policies 
and progress relating to corporate social 
responsibility issues, we have structured 
our report around our key stakeholders as 
follows:

Lifetime CO2  emission 
savings from “green” 
products 
(Tonnes, Thousands)

133

102

84

46

OUR CUSTOMERS
See page 20

OUR PEOPLE AND ThEIR  
hEALTh AND SAFETY
See page 21

2012

2013

2014

2015

OUR SUPPLIERS
See page 22

OUR COMMUNITIES
See page 23

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR CUSTOMERS

20

Delivering more for  
our customers
Our customers clearly see the benefits of 
ultra-high efficiency power converters when 
we see the growth in our “Green XP Power” 
revenues. Many customers are willing to pay 
the premium for these products due to their 
higher performance. 

The interesting aspect of ultra-high efficiency 
products is that they are also inherently 
more reliable. Once the power converter 
gets to a level of efficiency that is producing 
very little waste energy as heat, it no longer 
needs a mechanical fan for cooling. If 
the system engineer can dispense with a 
mechanical fan they have now removed the 
most unreliable part of the power system. 
In addition, as the power converter runs 
cooler the electronic components which 
are sensitive to heat, such as electrolytic 
capacitors, have longer lifetimes. The 
result is that not only is the power system 
consuming and wasting less energy, it has 
also become significantly more reliable. This 
is of particular benefit when we consider 
that many of our products are designed into 
critical applications in the healthcare and 
high end industrial sectors, where product 
failure and downtime are not acceptable. 

The additional benefit of dispensing with fan 
cooling is that the system does not require 
vents to expel the waste heat so can be 
sealed to prevent ingress of liquids and 
other material that could affect its reliability.

It is for these reasons that our customers 
who are concerned about reliability have 
been keen to adopt and design our 
ultra-high efficiency products into their 
equipment.

Key achievements
We have added an additional five product 
series to our portfolio of “Green XP Power” 
products. The products range from  
200 – 500 Watts and upwards of 
95% efficiency to meet our customer 
expectations. 

The GCS350 product was launched in 
2015. The characteristics in this product 
range help minimise no load power 
consumption in addition to maximising 
efficiency, with a typical efficiency of 93%. 
These features help with minimising the 
power consumed during a customer’s 
system idle state in addition to minimising 
heat wastage with such a high level of 
efficiency.

Our plans for the year ahead 
We will continue to meet our customers’ 
current and anticipated requirements for 
high efficiency products and continue to 
expand our product portfolio in this area.

We anticipate a number of new and exciting 
products that will be launched in 2016.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5OUR PEOPLE AND ThEIR hEALTh AND SAFETY

Sign posting for page

Or caption

Male

Asia

Europe

North America

Total Male

Female

Asia

Europe

North America

Total Female

Executive Management

All Other

Total

2

9

3

14

23

14

23

60

451

92

91

634

Executive Management

All Other

0

1

0

1

6

4

4

14

721

32

32

785

476

115

117

708

Total

727

37

36

800

21

Our People
Our People are our most important asset 
and we make great efforts to ensure that 
as an organisation we have an “open 
door” policy to promote open lines of 
communication. It is critical that we continue 
to convey to our staff that any ideas or 
areas of concern should be brought to the 
attention of our management team. There 
are also regular performance reviews of 
our staff and this provides a more formal 
mechanism with open dialogue. Within our 
factories we have established employee 
committees. These committees work 
with the staff and provide a good forum 
for promoting environmental awareness, 
with employees subsequently suggesting 
any environmental ideas to improve our 
performance. 

Employee engagement 
survey 
We performed an employee survey to help 
us gauge our current cultural index within 
the organisation. Employees anonymously 
rated our performance in various facets of 
our business. The survey was conducted 
across different departments. The results 
were very positive. One question, with 
the most favourable score out of all the 
questions, was that employees were 
“proud to be part of XP Power”. This was 
very pleasing and considered “clearly 
the best” when benchmarked with other 
companies. That said, we also identified 
principal areas in which we received 
feedback for further improvement. 
The area that could be improved on 
is continuing to develop and train our 
employees for further career development. 
We set out a number of initiatives 
throughout the year to improve this.

Diversity
We operate in a global market and 
recognise the benefits of a diverse and 
talented workforce and consider this as a 
key competitive advantage. Our business 
success is a reflection of the quality and skill 
of our people and the Group is committed 
to seeking out and retaining the finest talent.

XP Power believes in treating all people 
with respect and dignity. We strive to create 
and foster a supportive and understanding 
environment in which all individuals realise 
their maximum potential within the Company 
regardless of their difference. 

We believe our diversity benefits individuals, 
teams, our Company as a whole and 
our customers. We recognise that 
each employee brings their own unique 
capabilities, experiences and characteristics 
to their work and we value diversity at all 
levels of the Company.

Cultural score from 
Employee Engagement 
Survey (target is 67.0) 
63.6
59.2

health and safety
(number of incidents)

13

12

2015

2016

Asia

Europe

North
America

2

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT 

health and safety
The health and safety of our employees is 
of the utmost importance. The programme 
we have in place focuses on preventive 
action to ensure that we are being proactive 
and therefore reducing the risk of incidents 
from occurring. In addition to meeting 
the requirements set out in the Electronic 
Industry Citizenship Coalition Code, there 
are local requirements that we continuously 
set out to comply with and keep abreast 
of any changes. There are committee 
members at each of our key sites who 
ensure any accidents are reported, acted 
upon and included for management review. 
In the previously mentioned employee 
engagement survey, the feedback from our 
people indicated that as an organisation 
XP Power considers the Health and Safety 
programme very seriously. 

Our plans for the year ahead 
We will continue to ensure that we provide 
our people the resources needed to ensure 
a healthy and safe working environment. 
Through various actions such as training, 
education and ongoing monitoring of our 
programmes we will continue to focus on 
preventive measures.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR SUPPLIERS

22

Electronic Industry 
Citizenship Coalition (EICC)
As a member of the EICC, XP Power has 
promoted the benefits of meeting the 
EICC requirements to our suppliers. We 
hold regular engagement days with our 
key suppliers where we encourage them 
to adopt the ElCC Code of Conduct. Our 
policy is to disengage with suppliers who 
do not have the same vision as XP Power 
regarding environmental matters and are 
not continuously working towards an 
environmental improvement programme. 

Integrity of our supply chain 
XP Power considers our suppliers as long 
term partners to our business. When we 
initially engage with these partners we 
ensure that the suppliers have sound 
business practices by conducting a 
qualification process. This process includes 
an assessment regarding environmental 
performance, treatment of labour, health 
and safety and business ethics standards 
as set out in the EICC Code of Conduct. 
Our ethics policy includes requirements to 
ensure the integrity of our relationship with 
our partners. The XP Power ethics policy is 
included within our Corporate Sustainability 
Manual and includes the following 
requirements as it pertains to suppliers:

 } we will uphold high levels of business 

ethics in dealing with our suppliers; and

 } we will not at any time take or give bribes 
or other means of inducement to obtain 
improper advantage. 

These requirements have been 
communicated and the policy is readily 
available to our supply chain employees.

In 2010 the US Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
Reform and Consumer Protection Action 
was passed concerning “conflict minerals” 
originating from the Democratic Republic 
of the Congo or adjoining countries. XP 
Power has worked with our suppliers to try 
and eliminate using those sources that have 
originated from those countries in question. 
We have adopted the reporting template 
issued by the Global e-Sustainability 
Initiative (GeSI) and Electronic Industry 
Citizenship Coalition which we provide to 
our customers so they gain the necessary 
assurance we are not using conflict minerals 
in our products.

Our plans for the year ahead 
We continue to work with our supply chain 
partners to promote best sustainability 
practices. This will include regular on-
site visits to our suppliers and supplier 
engagement days at our facility. We 
disengage with suppliers we deem not to be 
in alignment with our standards and source 
more suitable partners. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5OUR COMMUNITIES

Community relations
Our global network of Environmental 
Representatives encouraged even more 
community involvement during the past 
year. Our employees continue to see the 
benefit in giving back to communities in 
which we operate. 

Involvement included:

 } Auctioning off of personal items to 

generate funds that were donated to 
support a local charity.

 } Donation of electronic tutorial kits to 
schools to generate interest and help 
provide educational resources.

 } Beach family cleanup day to pick up 
debris and litter on the beach and 
surrounding areas.

 } Company hike with employee 

contributions to support the event, 
with all funds being donated to support 
cancer research.

 } Volunteering at a road race which 

supports a local food bank.

23

Our plans for the year ahead 
The environmental representatives team 
continues to explore additional ways in 
which we can help our local communities. 
Additional activities are planned that 
include volunteering time, raising funds 
to support local charities or providing 
resources for educational purposes. This is 
an ongoing agenda item as part of our local 
environmental team’s periodic meetings to 
see how we can make a difference within 
the communities in which we operate.

Orange County Rescue 
Mission project
Prior to the holiday season volunteers 
from XP Power Orange County, California 
volunteered time to support the Orange 
County Rescue Mission Center. This 
facility is a transitional facility with the goal 
of helping those individuals currently in 
unfortunate circumstances to become 
self-sufficient. The volunteering included 
separating and preparing food and the 
preparation of meals. The visit was also 
beneficial to the group that volunteered as 
we were able to get a better understanding 
of the vision of the organisation and future 
possibilities of how we can support the 
Mission Center. 

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24

hOLDER ONLY

CO2 emissions
In 2009 we set ourselves a target of 
reducing CO2 emissions per unit of 
revenue by 5% per annum over the next 
five years. This aligns us with the Chinese 
Government’s target of reducing carbon 
emissions per unit of GDP by 40% to 45% 
between 2005 and 2020. We measure 
our CO2 emissions in accordance with the 
internationally recognised Green House Gas 
(GHG) Protocol and our metrics include 
scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. The CO2 
emissions data shows the three month 
moving average of CO2 emissions per unit of 
revenue at our Kunshan facility. 

Our total Green House Gas emissions for 
2015 were 3,361 tonnes of CO2 compared 
to 3,068 tonnes in 2014.

Water
XP Power does not use water within its 
manufacturing processes and is therefore 
a low-level water user. However, we are 
mindful that to ensure our water usage is 
minimised the use of alternative sources of 
water such as rainwater is maximised and 
that any wastewater is not contaminated. 
XP Power’s facility in Vietnam leads the 
way with an on-site water capture and 
recycling system supplying “grey water” to 
the buildings’ plumbing systems and for 
irrigation. 

Our water policy is to:

 } Employ best practice to maximise the 
efficient use of water and minimise 
pollution and waste.

 } Regularly review and report on the water 

use of our facilities and activities.

 } Commit to continuous improvement 
in responsible water management 
through identifying objectives and setting 
measurable goals.

 } Involve and educate employees, 

contractors and customers in our water 
use programmes.

 } Engage with suppliers to encourage 

their participation in responsible water 
management best practices.

 } Disengage with any suppliers who may 

be found to be negligent or noncompliant 
with responsible water management 
and who do not aggressively implement 
corrective actions.

CO2 emissions data

CO2 emissions (tonnes) – China and Vietnam facility

  CO2 emissions per unit of factory revenue (kg/$1,000)  – China facility

  CO2 emissions per unit of factory revenue (kg/$1,000)  – Vietnam facility

Water Data

Average number of employees

Water consumed (thousand litres)

Water consumed per employee (thousand litres)

2015

3,361

47

141*

2015

1,448

32,220

22.3**

2014

3,068

46

110

2014

1,160

25,300

21.8

2013

2,598

46

–

2013

1,081

21,200

19.6

2012

2,188

43

–

2012

895

17,500

19.5

* The increase in CO2 emissions per unit of factory revenue in Vietnam is due to start-up of power converter manufacturing at this facility.  
** The increase in water consumption per person is due to a higher proportion of new employees in the manufacturing facilities. Employees in manufacturing generally use more water.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5“We continue to 
look at all facets of 
our business and 
the changes we can 
implement to make 
a positive impact on 
the environment.”

25

Our plans for the year ahead 
We continue to look at all facets of 
our business and the changes we can 
implement to make a positive impact on 
the environment. We anticipate additional 
“Green XP Products” to be added to our 
product portfolio. We continue to look 
into additional improvements to all of our 
facilities, such as solar panels and high 
efficiency lighting systems.

Carbon Disclosure Project
XP Power is pleased to participate in and 
disclose its environmental data to the 
Carbon Disclosure Project. The full data  
set provided is publicly available on the 
Carbon Disclosure Project website at  
www.cdproject.net.

harmful substances
European legislation on the Reduction of 
Hazardous Substances (RoHS) came into 
effect in 2005. The legislation limited the 
levels of certain hazardous substances, 
including lead, in manufacturing products. 
Although the legislation is applicable only to 
products sold in Europe, and at the time its 
introduction was not applicable to medical 
products, XP Power took the decision to 
make all of the products it designs and 
manufactures compliant. This decision was 
not only good for the environment but also 
good for our business. 

The RoHS directive was recast with 
additional requirements which came into 
effect in July 2011. We are pleased to report 
that we are compliant with the latest RoHS 
directive as of July 2014.

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26

SPEED

SPEED WhAT ThIS MEANS TO US... 

Responding to our customers and colleagues with 
impressive speed

Constantly looking at faster and more efficient ways  
of delivering value in everything we do

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 527

Offering next day samples to our  
customers across the world
In 2015 we opened a new configuration centre in the UK to service our European 
customers. We already have such a centre in North America and in our China 
factory so can now provide next day samples of configured products across the 
world. 

We know that SPEED is of the essence as power converters are designed into 
our customers’ products at the end of their development process and so are 
on the critical path to market. Our configurable products are an alternative to 
a lengthy custom design which can take several months to design and build. 
We have products from 250 Watts to 2,400 Watts with 1 to 20 different output 
voltages. 

The FLEXIBILITY of this product line and the SPEED at which we can deliver 
offer a compelling proposition to our customers and not only save them cost but 
improve their time to market.

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“As we look forward, we see further opportunities to capitalise on our customer 
relationships and large direct sales channel by further expanding our product 
offering. Our acquisition of EMCO is an excellent example of this. Until now we 
have not had access to this high voltage technology and the acquisition opens 
up a significant growth opportunity in an attractive niche market characterised 
by numerous small players.”

28

Review of our year
While the market for industrial electronics 
remained challenging in 2015, we continued 
to execute our strategy successfully. We 
reported record order intake and revenues 
in the year as well as delivering our 
highest ever level of own designed/own 
manufactured product revenues.

We also completed a key acquisition taking 
us into a new product area. The acquisition 
of EMCO expands our product offering into 
the arena of high voltage DC-DC modules 
and we are extremely excited about this 
growth opportunity. 

We have ramped up production volumes 
of power converters at our Vietnam facility, 
giving us a cost advantage over many 
of our competitors. From an operational 
perspective we have also further enhanced 
our business systems and reduced the 
lead times of some of our key products 
by applying lean manufacturing principles. 
In December 2015 we launched our 
revamped website to provide much 
greater functionality and a richer customer 
experience. 

We remain excited by the future prospects 
for our business. 

Strategic progress
We continue to execute a well-defined 
strategy which has enabled our Company 
to take market share consistently over many 
years. This strategy can be summarised as 
follows:

 } Development of a strong pipeline of 

leading-edge products;

 } Expansion of our range of high efficiency 

“green” products;

 } Targeting key accounts and increasing 

the penetration of existing key accounts;

 } Enhancing our value proposition to our 

customers by becoming a manufacturer;

 } Increasing the contribution of our own 
designed/manufactured products; and 

 } Leading our industry on environmental 

matters.

When we review this list the clear evidence 
is that we continue to make significant 
progress. We have the broadest, most up 
to date portfolio of products in the industry, 
many of which are class leading in terms 
of efficiency and low stand-by power. Our 
portfolio of XP “Green” Power products 
grew an impressive 27% in 2015 to  
£23.6 million (2014: £18.6 million), 
demonstrating how enthusiastically 
these products are now being adopted 
by our customers. We also continue to 
see revenues from our own designed/
manufactured products grow at a faster rate 
than our other products. 

We consider that our transition from a 
sales distribution company, through the 
addition of a design capability, to designer 
and manufacturer is now complete. We 
are clearly recognised as a designer and 

manufacturer by key customers in the 
industrial, healthcare and technology 
markets. Revenues from our own-designed 
products set a new record of £74.6 million 
in the year, representing 68% of revenue 
(2014: 66%). We expect further growth in 
this area in 2016.

As we have gained preferred or approved 
supplier status with numerous blue chip 
companies, we are being exposed to 
new opportunities in new product areas. 
Our Company is an attractive partner to 
larger blue chip customers who are keen 
to reduce costs by dealing with a smaller 
number of key suppliers. Our broad range 
of products, excellent customer service, 
low cost Asian manufacturing capability and 
engineering support on three continents 
make us an ideal strategic partner to these 
companies. We have established this 
position with our standard product offering 
but now see attractive opportunities for 
these larger customers to engage in custom 
designs. We have already deployed more 
of our engineering services resource into 
these areas but also see opportunities for 
further acquisitions where our customer 
relationships and supplier approvals at key 
customers can be combined with acquired 
custom engineering expertise. 

As we look forward, we see further 
opportunities to capitalise on our customer 
relationships and large direct sales channel 
by further expanding our product offering. 
Our acquisition of EMCO is an excellent 
example of this. EMCO specialises in high 
voltage DC-DC converters or modules. We 
supply AC-DC power converters to many 
customers that are also using these high 
voltage products and our AC-DC converter 
solution may often, in fact, be providing 
the DC power to the high voltage modules 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Jonathan Rhodes Finance Director / / / Duncan Penny Chief executive officer

22 February 2016

29

in the customer’s system. Until now we 
have not had access to this high voltage 
technology and the acquisition opens 
up a significant growth opportunity in an 
attractive niche market characterised by 
numerous small players.

Productivity will be a key focus area for 
us moving forward. We have excellent 
customer service and operating margins, 
demonstrating that we have an efficient 
and effective business model. As our 
organisation grows geographically and in 
complexity we are striving to retain and 
build on the core values of knowledge, 
flexibility and speed that have underpinned 
our success to date. We have continued to 
upgrade our systems and have employed 
new talent with experience in complex 
operations and lean process techniques.

Marketplace
In 2015, during the second half in particular, 
we have seen a number of interesting 
changes in the revenue profile of the 
different geographies and sectors which we 
serve.

Since 2012 we have seen consistent  
growth in our North America business. In 
2013 revenues grew 9% to $78.4 million; in 
2014 revenues grew a further 8% to  
$84.9 million. In 2015 revenues only 
grew 1% to $85.5 million and that growth 
essentially came from the addition of EMCO, 
which contributed revenues of $0.8 million 
from 25 November 2015. The weakness 
came entirely from the industrial sector, 
which declined 18%, although this was 
almost entirely compensated for by an 
impressive 31% growth in the technology 
sector. After a number of challenging years 
the technology sector in North America 
has bounced back strongly. Technology 
represented 30% of revenues in North 

America in 2015 (2014: 23%), offsetting 
the weakness in the industrial sector which 
represented 31% of revenues in 2015 
(2014: 39%). Order intake during the third 
quarter of 2015 was noticeably weak at only 
$17.3 million but orders rebounded to $23.6 
million in the fourth quarter, giving us greater 
confidence for 2016.

Our Asian business continued to grow 
despite the widely reported slow-down in 
China. Asian revenues grew 9% in 2015 
to $13.7 million (2014: $12.6 million). The 
customers driving this increase generally 
have demand for their end products outside 
of the emerging markets. Asia followed 
a similar pattern to North America, with 
the technology and healthcare sectors 
demonstrating much stronger growth than 
industrial. Healthcare revenues showed very 
strong growth of 24% in Asia. Technology 
revenues also grew robustly at 16% 
whereas industrial revenues were flat.

Our European business grew by 7% to  
£45.1 million (2014: £42.2 million) having 
declined in the prior year. This was despite 
the translational effect of a comparatively 
weak Euro. The industrial business in Europe 
grew by 6% but could not outpace the 
effect of new customer programmes within 
healthcare, which grew by 11% in 2015.

The geographic split of reported revenue 
was maintained year-on-year. Overall, North 
America represented 51% of revenue (2014: 
51%), Asia represented 8% of revenue (2014: 
8%) and Europe represented 41% of revenue 
(2014: 41%). The average exchange rate for 
the US Dollar compared to Sterling was 1.54 
in 2015 versus 1.65 in 2014, representing 
a 6.7% strengthening of the US Dollar. This 
caused North America and Asia revenues to 
be inflated due to translation.

The overall picture by sector reflects the 
narrative above. Industrial represented 
44% of revenue (2014: 49%), healthcare 
represented 31% of revenue (2014: 31%) 
and technology represented 25% of revenue 
(2014: 20%). All our products are designed 
into capital equipment so our revenues will 
always be affected by capital equipment 
cycles; however, our exposure to a large 
number of end markets helps mitigate the 
cyclicality in any particular sector, producing 
an underlying resilience in our business 
model. 

We continue to perform well against our 
traditional established competition. Our 
broad standard product offering and 
excellent customer service delivered by 
the largest direct sales force in our industry 
is a compelling proposition. We expect 
our competition to emerge from Asia as 
companies with low cost manufacturing and 
engineering capabilities attempt to tap into 
areas of industrial and healthcare markets 
in Europe and North America. As a result, 
we need to ensure we continue to drive 
down our manufacturing costs and maintain 
our reputation as the experts in power to 
mitigate this threat.

Expanding our global 
operations
In May 2015 we acquired a 51% stake in a 
value-added distributor of power products 
in South Korea for a cash consideration 
of US$2.1 million. The company has been 
distributing XP Power’s products since 2008 
and, although it is a niche player, South 
Korea is an interesting market for industrial 
electronics. Importantly, the company has 
an excellent engineering services capability 
which enables it to customise power 
solutions to make them easier to integrate 
into the customer’s end equipment.

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30

We also set up a sales office in Israel early in 
2015. Although typical design-in cycles from 
identification of an opportunity to realising 
the first revenue are around 18 months, we 
are already identifying good opportunities in 
this high technology market.

We continue to actively seek acquisitions 
that will enable us to expand our product 
portfolio and engineering capabilities.

Research and development
We have continued to invest in research and 
development to further expand our portfolio 
of products and the size of our addressable 
market opportunity. We increased our 
design engineering resource and capabilities 
during the year in both our North America 
and United Kingdom design centres, 
including the introduction of a firmware 
capability for which we are seeing increasing 
demand. We released 22 new product 
families in 2015 (2014: 26) with 17 of these 
classified as ultra-high efficiency.

New product releases included the GCS265 
and GCS350 series which extend our 
popular GCS180 and GCS250 product 
families upwards in power. These new 
ranges offer high efficiency at a lower 
price point and have been enthusiastically 
received by our customers. 

With the acquisition of EMCO we gained 
a new design centre of talented engineers 
in Northern California specialising in high 
voltage DC-DC modules. These products 
are used in a multitude of applications 
including semiconductor manufacturing, 
healthcare, industrial printing, electrostatic 
precipitation, detection, analytical devices 
and many others. This is an exciting new 
area for us and our sales team is already 
identifying new opportunities for these 
products within our existing customer base.

Manufacturing
In 2015 we produced 1.4 million power 
converters compared with 1.3 million in 
2014. Production volumes of magnetics 
windings at our Vietnam facility have 
continued to ramp-up and in 2015 we 
produced 4.3 million windings compared 
to 3.6 million in 2014. In the fourth quarter 
of 2014 we started to produce the first 
pre-production samples of complete power 
converters in Vietnam. We are pleased to 
report that power converter production in 
Vietnam has continued to build and totalled 
0.2 million units in 2015. This addition of 
a second manufacturing site adds much 
needed capacity and also enhances our 
cost competitiveness as production costs

in Vietnam are significantly lower than our 
existing Chinese facility.

The quality from Vietnam has been excellent 
and we are pleased with the progress 
made at this facility and excited by its future 
potential.

We continue to make process 
improvements in our manufacturing facilities, 
where we are applying more lean process 
principles. Our internal yields continue to 
improve and we have redesigned some of 
our processes to reduce product lead times 
to provide an even better service to our 
customers and reduce our freight costs.

Enhancing our digital 
presence
In December 2015 we launched our 
completely revamped website at  
xppower.com. The new mobile-optimised 
site is specifically designed to improve 
interaction and the overall user experience. 
Site enhancements include additional 
product selector tools, a rapid datasheet 
finder, and more comprehensive company 
information covering topics such as 
standards certification, conformance to 
environmental specifications and quality 
assurance information. 

The product section has been extended 
to include high voltage power modules 
following the recent completion of the 
EMCO acquisition. 

The site provides localised content in 
French, German, Italian and Chinese.

Distribution
In the first quarter of 2014 we announced 
that we have been accepted as a supplier 
to Digikey, the electronic components 
distributor, in addition to our existing 
arrangements with Premier Farnell/Newark. 
These are excellent channels to service 
smaller customers and to gain widespread 
brand recognition for our products. 2015 
was therefore the first full year of the Digikey 

arrangement and we are pleased that 
this has provided excellent growth in this 
channel, enabling us to reach even more 
customers.

Systems development
Efficient and robust systems are essential 
in order for us to manage an international 
business with a highly diverse customer 
base. In 2014 we upgraded our Customer 
Relationship Management Systems across 
all three regions. This has allowed us to 
collaborate and share information much more 
effectively and provide even better customer 
service. From the beginning of January 2015 
we replaced our North America business 
systems with SAP and are now running the 
same Enterprise Resource Management 
System across all three geographies, which 
further enhances the speed and capability of 
our internal reporting.

We also began running the EMCO sales 
through SAP from the beginning of 2016 so 
we can now see the entire sales business 
real time on one consolidated system. 

This integrated approach ensures that we 
have the robust systems and reporting 
necessary to support our future growth.

Revenue and order intake
Revenues grew 9% over the prior year 
(4% in constant currency) to £109.7 million 
(2014: £101.1 million) setting a new record 
for the Group. Order intake grew by 5% 
(1% in constant currency) to £110.5 million 
(2014: £105.1 million), also setting a new 
record for the Group. Revenues from our 
own designed product – a key indicator of 
our strategic progress – grew by 11% (or 
approximately 7% in constant currency) 
to £74.6 million (2014: £67.2 million), 
representing 68% of revenue (2014: 66%) 
and setting another new record.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 531

Margins
Gross margin showed modest improvement 
to 49.8% (2014: 49.6%), largely due to 
product mix and despite start-up costs 
associated with power converter production 
in Vietnam of approximately £0.3 million 
and continued labour cost inflation in China. 
Operating margins declined from 24.2% 
in 2014 to 23.3% primarily as a result of the 
one-off costs associated with acquisitions 
of £0.3 million (2014: nil) as well as the 
extra resource added to our engineering 
and sales functions to drive future 
revenue growth.

Profit before tax was £25.4 million (2014: 
£24.3 million). After adding back one-off 
costs associated with acquisitions of £0.3 
million (2014: nil), adjusted profit before tax 
was £25.7 million, an increase of 6% over 
that reported in 2014. 

Taxation
The tax charge for the year was  
£5.5 million (2014: £4.8 million), which 
represents an effective tax rate of 21.7% 
(2014: 19.8%). The effective rate is 
primarily determined by how our profits are 
distributed geographically. We expect a very 
slight increase in the effective tax rate again 
in 2016, when it is likely to be in the range of 
24% to 25%.

Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share increased by 2% 
to 103.7 pence compared to 102.1 pence in 
2014. Diluted earnings per share increased 
by 2% to 102.8 pence compared with 101.1 
pence in 2014. After adding back one-off 
costs associated with acquisitions of £0.3 
million, adjusted diluted earnings per share 
was 104.3 pence, an increase of 3% over 
101.1 pence achieved in 2014.

Cash flow, funding and  
net cash
Our high margin business model and 
modest capital requirements continue to 
produce excellent free cash flows.

Net debt at the end of 2015 was £3.7 million 
compared with a net cash position of £1.3 
million at the end of 2014. This net debt 
position was after returning £12.0 million 
to shareholders in the form of dividends 
and paying £9.3 million to finance our 2015 
acquisitions.

In order to finance the acquisition of EMCO, 
the Group took out a US$12.0 million term 
debt facility with Bank of Scotland PLC. 
The facility is repayable in equal quarterly 
instalments of US$1.7 million commencing 
in June 2016 and ending in December 
2017. The facility is priced at LIBOR plus a 
margin of 0.95%.

In September 2015 the Group renewed its 
annual working capital facility at a level of 
US$12.5 million (2014: US$15.0 million). 
This facility stepped down to US$10.0 
million from 1 January 2016, then reduces 
to US$7.5 million from 1 April 2016 and to 
US$5.0 million from 1 July 2016. Interest 
chargeable under this facility is priced at the 
Bank of England base rate plus a margin  
of 1.5%. 

At 31 December 2015, £0.6 million of the 
working capital facility, representing 7%, 
was drawn down. Bank of Scotland PLC 
provides the facility.

Dividends
The attractive cash generative quality of our 
business model has enabled us to pursue 
a very progressive dividend policy over a 
sustained period of time.

Our policy is to increase dividends 
progressively whilst maintaining an 
appropriate level of cover. This year’s 
financial performance in terms of both 
profitability and cash flow has enabled us 
to recommend a final dividend of 24 pence 
per share which together with the quarterly 
dividends already paid gives a total dividend 
for the year of 66 pence per share (2014: 
61 pence per share), an increase of 8%. 
Dividend cover for the year was 1.6 times.

Derivatives
The Group’s financial instruments consist of 
cash, money market deposits, overdrafts, 
and various other items such as trade 
receivables and trade payables that arise 
directly from its business operations.

The Group uses forward currency  
contracts to convert Euro long positions 
to cover the US Dollar short positions in 
its parent company. The Group also uses 
forward currency contracts to hedge GBP 
liability on its parent company books. The 
Group had £11.3 million of forward currency 
contracts outstanding at 31 December 2015 
(2014: £12.4 million).

Substantial interests
Other than the Directors’ interests, at  
31 December 2015 the Company was 
aware of the following interests in 3% or 
more of the issued ordinary share capital of 
the Company:

Number 
of shares 

%

Hargreave Hale

2,145,457

11.2%

Aberdeen Asset 
Management Limited  2,124,617

11.0%

Mawer Investment 
Management 

Standard Life 
Investments 

Henderson Global 
Investors

1,798,842

9.4%

1,474,291

7.7%

926,631

4.8%

Capital Group

880,000

4.6%

Outlook for 2016
While we recognise a number of economic 
headwinds with the potential to impact our 
business in 2016 – notably slowing growth 
rates in China and North America – 
we consider that we remain well positioned 
in our marketplace. We have good 
momentum as our design pipeline continues 
to grow, order intake in the fourth quarter 
of 2015 was strong at £30.0 million and we 
entered 2016 with a healthy order book. 

In addition, following the acquisition of 
EMCO, we are excited by the prospects 
of our new high voltage DC-DC module 
product line, which will provide additional 
revenues this year. The combination of these 
factors gives us confidence that we should 
see further revenue growth in 2016.

We remain confident in the long term 
prospects for our Company.

Duncan Penny
Chief Executive

Jonathan Rhodes
Finance Director

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The Group has defined five key performance indicators which are closely 
aligned with its strategy, and which demonstrate the significant progress 
made over the last five years.

32

New product  
families released

“Green” product revenues
(£ millions)

38

31

31

19

26

22

23.6

18.6

13.7

8.1

5.0

2.8

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The number of new product families 
launched to our sales team and customers 
during the year including both own design 
and labelled products

Revenue generated from products which meet 
the high efficiency and low stand-by power 
requirements set by XP Power to qualify them 
to carry the “Green XP Power” logo

Target achieved

N/A

YES

Progress in 2015

Plans for 2016

Not all products are equal in terms of 
their complexity and potential future 
revenue. In assessing new product 
opportunities our development teams 
consider the potential revenue from a 
new product family as well as the total 
number of product introductions.

We would expect the growth rate of 
these products to significantly outpace 
the growth rate of total revenues.

 ¼ 22 new product families were released 
in 2015 (2014: 26) with continued 
emphasis on high efficiency.

 ¼ Revenue from “green” products 

increased by 27% versus a total revenue 
increase of 9%.

 ¼ “Green” products now represent 22% of 

total revenues (2014: 18.0%).

 ¼ New product releases have been 

identified to complement and expand our 
broad product offering.

 ¼ Expanding existing engineering resource 

and bolt on acquisitions are being 
targeted to further expand our product 
range.

 ¼ We expect further growth in “green” 
product revenues in 2016 with 
successful design wins with products 
released in 2014 and 2015 entering 
production to drive revenues in 2016, 
and plans for further “green” product 
releases in 2016 as well as contribution 
from the new EMCO high voltage DC-DC 
modules.

Linkage to strategy

 ¼ Develop a strong pipeline of leading  

 ¼ Expansion of high efficiency  

edge products

“Green” products

Linkage to remuneration: the main element of variable pay for the Executive Directors is growth in margins and operating 
profit, which is the desired outcome of the Group’s strategy. Executive Directors also forfeit unvested share options in the event 
of any serious environmental or health and safety issues, or breach of the Company’s ethics policy.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5STRATEGIC REPORT

Non financial KPIs: 

 ¼ No environmental issues 

 ¼ No serious health  
and safety events 

 ¼ No breaches of the  

Company’s ethics policy

Own design revenue  
(£ millions)

Proportion of own  
design revenue (%)

Earnings per share 
(pence) (after adjusting for  
one-off costs)

59.2

57.7

44.1

64.2

67.2

74.6

57

48

62

64

66

68

106.4

83.7

81.3

101.1

104.3

95.1

33

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Revenue derived from products designed 
by XP Power or where XP Power owns the 
design and outsources manufacture

Revenue from own design products as a 
percentage of total revenue

Diluted earnings per share adjusted for 
one-off charges associated with acquisitions

YES

YES

NO

The Group targets to grow this metric by 
a double digit percentage each year.

The Group is targeting to achieve 75% 
own design revenue over the course 
of time. We are making consistent and 
steady progress towards this target

The Group targets to grow this metric by 
a double digit percentage each year.

 ¼ Revenue from own design revenue grew 

by 11% year on year.

 ¼ A consequential record gross margin 
at 49.8% was achieved as a result of 
both this improved mix and the factory 
absorption benefit from manufacturing 
these own design products ourselves 
despite start-up costs from producing 
power converters in Vietnam.

 ¼ Our proportion of own design revenue 
climbed to 68% of total revenue (2014: 
66%), making further progress against 
our overall long-term target.

 ¼ With all own design products being 

manufactured in house, capacity has 
been further expanded in 2015 with 
power converters now being produced in 
our Vietnam facility.

 ¼ Diluted earnings per share (EPS) 

adjusted for one-off charges associated 
with acquisitions increased by 3% over 
the previous year.

 ¼ The increased engineering resource 
added in 2015 should ensure new 
product development continues apace 
unhindered by sustaining engineering. 

 ¼ With a strong order backlog, continued 
design wins and the acquisition of 
EMCO, we expect to be able to grow 
earnings per share in 2016.

 ¼ We have a number of product releases 
planned for 2016 which should allow 
us to continue the trend of growing 
the proportion of own design revenue. 
The addition of the EMCO high voltage 
products will also contribute to this 
metric in 2016.

 ¼ Ramping up production of power 

supplies in Vietnam should help mitigate 
labour cost increases to help maintain 
gross margin levels.

 ¼ Target and increase penetration of  

 ¼ Manufacture our own products

 ¼ Target and increase penetration of  

key accounts 

 ¼ Increase contribution of own  

design products

key accounts

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015MANAGING OUR RISKS

Our risk framework
Like many other international businesses, the Group is exposed 
to a number of risks which may have a material effect on its 
financial performance. The Board has overall responsibility for the 
management of risk and sets aside time at its meetings to identify and 
address risks. Although it is not possible to entirely eliminate risk 
from our business, we undertake steps to reduce and mitigate the 
identified risks.

34

how we have reviewed our risks
Identified risks are recorded and classified 
according to:

 } The assessment of their level of impact 
to the viability of the business if they 
occurred – Risks are assessed as to 
whether their impact would be either 
severe, moderate or low; 

 } The likelihood of a risk occurring – Risks 
are assessed as either high, medium or 
low in terms of their likelihood; and

 } The direction in which they are trending – 
Risks are classified according to whether 
they are assessed as becoming more 
likely to occur, less likely to occur or 
whether the risk of occurrence remains 
unchanged.

Although the attributes assigned to the 
identified risks are judgemental and 
qualitative in nature, the Board regards the 
methodology as useful in determining the 
focus that should be given on each risk.

Each risk is regularly discussed at Board 
level and where possible actions set to 
mitigate and/or reduce the identified risk. 
The key risks that have been identified 
and the mitigating actions are summarised 
below classified according to their assessed 
impact to the long term viability of the 
business.

This is not an exhaustive list of the risks that 
the Board has identified and considered but 
does include all risks which are assessed as 
having a severe or moderate impact to the 
business if they occurred.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 535

Risks which could have a severe impact on the Company’s business and possibly on the viability of the Company’s business

Risk

Mitigation

Disruption of one of our manufacturing facilities
An event that results in the temporary or permanent 
loss of a manufacturing facility would be a serious 
issue. As the Group manufactures 68% of revenues, 
this would undoubtedly cause at least a short term 
loss of revenues and profits and disruption to our 
customers and therefore damage to reputation.

 ¼ We now have two facilities (China and Vietnam) 
where we are able to produce power supplies. 
However, currently only certain series can be 
produced in both facilities.

 ¼ We have disaster recovery plans in place for both 

facilities.

 ¼ We have also undertaken a risk review of the 

manufacturing management to identify and assess 
risks which could cause a serious disruption 
to manufacturing, and then identified and 
implemented actions to reduce or mitigate these 
risks where possible.

Assessed likelihood

Medium

Product recall
A product recall due to a quality or safety issue would 
have serious repercussions to the business in terms of 
potential cost and reputational damage as a supplier to 
critical systems.

 ¼ We perform 100% functional testing on all own 

Medium

manufactured products and 100% hipot testing, 
which determines the adequacy of electrical 
insulation, on own manufactured products. 
This ensures the integrity of the isolation barrier 
between the mains supply and the end user of the 
equipment. We also test all the medical products 
we manufacture to ensure the leakage current is 
within the medical specifications.

 ¼ Where we have contracts with customers, we 

always limit our contractual liability regarding recall 
costs.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTMANAGING OUR RISKS

Risks that could have a moderate impact on the Company’s business

Risk

Mitigation

Assessed likelihood

High

 ¼ The Group reviews activities of its competition, in 
particular product releases, and stays up to date 
with new technological advances in our industry, 
especially those relating to new components and 
materials. The Group also tries to keep its cost base 
competitive by operating in low cost geographies 
where appropriate.

 ¼ The Group undertakes performance evaluations 

Medium

and reviews to help it stay close to its key personnel 
as well as annual employee engagement surveys. 
Where considered appropriate the Group also 
makes use of financial retention tools such as equity 
awards.

 ¼ The Group mitigates this risk by providing 

Medium

excellent service. Customer complaints and non-
conformances are reviewed monthly by members 
of the executive management team. On the supply 
side we conduct regular audits of our key suppliers 
and in addition keep large amounts of safety 
inventory of key components.

High

 ¼ Although not immune from an economic downturn 
or the cyclicality of the capital equipment markets, 
the Group’s diverse customer base, geographic 
spread and revenue annuities reduce exposure to 
this risk.

 ¼ The Group’s business model is not capital intensive 
and the strong profit margins lead to healthy cash 
generation which also helps mitigate risks from 
these external factors.

36

Competition from new market entrants and new 
technologies
The power supply market is diverse and competitive. 
The Directors believe that the development of new 
technologies could give rise to significant new 
competition to the Group, which may have a material 
effect on its business. At the lower end of the Group’s 
target market, in terms of both power range and 
programme size, the barriers to entry are lower and 
there is, therefore, a risk that competition could 
quickly increase particularly from emerging low cost 
manufacturers in Asia.

Dependence on key personnel
The future success of the Group is substantially 
dependent on the continued services and continuing 
contributions of its Directors, senior management 
and other key personnel. The loss of the services of 
any of their respective executive officers or other key 
employees could have a material adverse effect on 
their businesses.

Loss of key customers/suppliers
The Group is dependent on retaining its key customers 
and suppliers. Should the Group lose a number of 
its key customers or key suppliers, this could have a 
material impact on the Group’s businesses’ financial 
condition and results of operations. However, for the 
year ended 31 December 2015, no one customer 
accounted for more than 7% of revenue.

Fluctuations of revenues, expenses and operating 
results due to an economic downturn or external 
shock
The revenues, expenses and operating results of the 
Group could vary significantly from period to period 
as a result of a variety of factors, some of which are 
outside its control. These factors include general 
economic conditions, adverse movements in interest 
rates, conditions specific to the market, seasonal 
trends in revenues, capital expenditure and other 
costs, and the introduction of new products or services 
by the Group, or by their competitors. In response to 
a changing competitive environment, the Group may 
elect from time to time to make certain pricing, service, 
marketing decisions or acquisitions that could have 
a short term material adverse effect on the Group’s 
revenues, results of operations and financial condition.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Heading37

Risks that could have a moderate impact on the Company’s business

Risk

Mitigation

Assessed likelihood

Exposure to exchange rate fluctuations
The Group deals in many currencies for both its 
purchases and sales including US Dollars, Euros and 
its reporting currency Pounds Sterling. In particular, 
North America represents an important geographic 
market for the Group where virtually all the revenues 
are denominated in US Dollars. The Group also 
sources components in US Dollars and the Chinese 
Yuan. The Group therefore has an exposure to foreign 
currency fluctuations. This could lead to material 
adverse movements in reported earnings. 

Information technology systems
The business of the Group relies to a significant extent 
on information technology systems used in the daily 
operations of its operating subsidiaries. Any failure or 
impairment of those systems or any inability to transfer 
data onto any new systems introduced could cause a 
loss of business and/or damage to the reputation of the 
Group together with significant remedial costs.

The Group is also potentially exposed to cyber-attacks 
of its internal systems or website or software viruses 
in general which could have an adverse impact on the 
business. 

Risks relating to regulation and taxation
The Group operates in multiple jurisdictions with 
applicable trade and tax regulations that vary. Failing to 
comply with local regulations or a change in legislation 
could impact the profits of the Group. In addition, the 
effective tax rate of the Group is affected by where its 
profits fall geographically. The Group effective tax rate 
could therefore fluctuate over time and have an impact 
on earnings and potentially its share price.

 ¼ The Group reviews balance sheet and cash 

High

flow currency exposures and where considered 
appropriate uses forward exchange contracts to 
hedge these exposures. Any forward contract 
requires the approval of both the Chief Executive 
and Finance Director. 

 ¼ The Group does not hedge any translation of 

its subsidiaries’ results to Sterling for reporting 
purposes.

 ¼ The Group has disaster recovery plans in place 

High

to help deal with disruption including information 
technology issues. The Group’s key data is 
replicated on different sites and backed up or is 
held in the cloud.

 ¼ The Group has firewall and other data security 
infrastructure to protect from outside threats. It 
also operates policies to prevent employees using 
unauthorised software inside the Company’s 
premises which could introduce a virus or malware 
into the Group’s internal systems.

 ¼ The Group hires employees with relevant skills 

Medium

and uses external advisers to keep up to date with 
changes in regulations and to remain compliant.

 ¼ The Group also employs a treasurer, who keeps our 

taxation position under continual review.

viability statement
In accordance with provision C.2.2 of the revision of the Code, the Directors are required to assess the prospects of the Company over a 
period longer than the 12 months required by the “Going Concern” provision.

The Company has a business model where the Company’s product is designed into numerous applications, with numerous customers, 
in numerous geographies. The Company’s products are all designed into capital equipment which is generally in production for a number 
of consecutive years resulting in a revenue annuity. The Company has a term debt facility of £8.0 million, used to finance the acquisition 
of EMCO High Voltage Corporation, which is scheduled to be fully repaid by the end of December 2017. In addition, the Company has 
undertaken a process to produce a profit and cash flow forecast projecting to the end of 2018 built up by programme, by customer. For 
these reasons, and after considering the identified risks to the business set out on pages 34 to 37, the Directors are of the opinion that the 
Company is viable for at least a period of three years. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5HeadingSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTOUR vALUES

38

INTEGRITY

INTEGRITY  WhAT ThIS MEANS TO US... 

honest in all our interactions with our colleagues, 
customers and suppliers

Always doing the right things

Taking care of our people, ensuring XP Power is 
a great place to work where we trust the people 
we work with, have pride in what we do and gain 
enjoyment from our work

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Our Core values in Action
Our customer won a contract in a major 
city to replace the traditional payphones 
with high speed Wi-Fi access points. These 
public access points also include USB 
device charging ports, touchscreen web 
browsing and very large digital advertising 
displays.

This type of equipment requires a 
reasonably high amount of power but 
the main power challenge is the harsh 
environment. As this is outdoor equipment 
it is exposed to extremes of temperature, as 
well as moisture and dust. Due to the nature 
of the application the customer required 
extremely high levels of reliability.  

The initial power converter selected by the 
customer was fan cooled and it could not 
meet the outdoor, rugged temperature 
specification. XP Power identified a suitable 
power solution from its standard product 
range that could deliver the level of power 
the application demanded but critically 
did not need fan cooling. This allowed the 
customer to meet their stringent rugged 
temperature specification and also gave a 
quantum leap in underlying reliability as the 
customer could dispense with the fans for 
cooling purposes. 

CUSTOMER 
FOCUS

KNOWLEDGE

FLEXIBILITY

SPEED

INTEGRITY

39

XP Power’s technical sales and Power 
Systems Engineering team worked with the 
customer at their facility during the testing 
and evaluation process. In addition, XP 
Power engineering ran thermal testing in our 
facilities using the customer’s custom heat 
sink to confirm the power converters could 
meet the specification.

The customer then faced challenges 
meeting the requirements for passing 
radiated and conducted electrical noise 
emissions along with leakage current. XP 
Power provided solutions to this by making 
simple modifications to the standard power 
converter. We were also able to provide 
special protective coating to the electrical 
components to protect them from moisture 
and dust along with customer unique 
identification labels for tracking.

XP Power supported this design in and 
evaluation testing and provided production 
units all within three months.

This case study clearly demonstrates our 
core values of KNOWLEDGE, FLEXIBILITY, 
SPEED and CUSTOMER FOCUS in order to 
get the customer’s program back on track 
to allow them to meet their market window.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015STRATEGIC REPORTChAIRMAN’S INTRODUCTION TO GOvERNANCE

“The Board of Directors’ primary responsibility is to provide 
direction to help shape the strategy of the Group and 
ensure it is being executed effectively within a structure 
that mitigates risk and is well controlled. Good corporate 
governance provides the basis for this structure which is 
why the Board have placed a greater emphasis on this 
during the year.”

40

James Peters non-executive Chairman

22 February 2016

I am pleased to report that Polly Williams 
joined the Board as an Independent 
Non-Executive with effect from 1 January 
2016. As a chartered accountant and 
former Partner at KPMG, Polly’s financial 
background will add further strength to the 
Board and to the Audit Committee. 
In addition, Polly’s experience in governance 
and compliance acquired through her 
various Non-Executive roles will be 
invaluable to our continuing efforts to strive 
for excellence in this area.

Other changes made to the Group’s 
committees include Terry Twigger’s 
appointment to the Nomination Committee 
and Peter Bucher joining the Audit 
Committee. As well as offering new opinion 
to these Committees they also promote 
greater independence. John Dyson will not 
be offering himself for re-election at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting. His 
contribution to the Group during his tenure 
on the Board has been invaluable to both 
management and shareholders.

Polly has also been appointed Chair of 
the Remuneration Committee. Combined 
with Terry Twigger’s appointment during 
the year and the continuing involvement 
of Peter Bucher, the Committee has 
revamped the Group’s remuneration policy 
to align the variable pay elements to the 
longer term interests of shareholders. The 
inclusion of clawback and malus provisions 
together with the introduction of minimum 
shareholdings for Executive Directors are 
further enhancements to the policy.

With fresh perspectives from three Non-
Executive Directors that have joined over 
the past two years, each of whom bring a 
wealth of skills and experience, the Board 
now comprises eight members, four of 
whom are qualified accountants and 
five that have technical and commercial 
experience in the power converter industry. 
Terry Twigger and Polly Williams both have 
considerable public company experience at 
board level.

In the following pages we set out our 
approach to corporate governance. Under 
the Singapore Companies Act, Chapter 50, 
the Company is not required to follow the 
Singapore Corporate Governance Code. 
The Company has voluntarily agreed to 
the principles of corporate governance 
contained in the UK Corporate Governance 
Code (the “Code”) as required under the 
Listing Rules of the Financial Services 
Authority of the United Kingdom.

We have tried to clearly lay out how 
we meet the five sections of the Code, 
namely leadership, effectiveness, 
accountability, remuneration and relations 
with shareholders. For the benefit of 
shareholders who are not familiar with the 
Code we have set out the main principles of 
the Code in detail and have stated how we 
have addressed them in this report.

I am pleased to report that throughout 
the year ended 31 December 2015 the 
Company has made every effort to be in full 
compliance with the provisions of the Code. 

DIVIDEND CHART?

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 541

IN ThIS SECTION... 
42  Directors and Officers
44  Corporate Governance Report
48  Audit Committee Report
50  Remuneration Committee Report
51  Remuneration Policy
55  Remuneration Annual Report
62  Other Governance and Statutory Disclosures
63  Statement by Directors

Sign posting for pageOr caption24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015governance rePorTDIRECTORS AND OFFICERS

James Peters
Non-Executive  
Chairman
(age 57)

Duncan Penny
Chief Executive 
(age 53)

42

James has over 30 years’ experience in the power converter 
industry and trained with Marconi Space and Defence Systems, 
prior to joining Coutant Lambda, one of the UK’s major power 
converter companies, as an internal sales engineer. He joined 
Powerline shortly after its formation in 1980 and was involved in 
all aspects of the business. 

In November 1988, he founded XP. In April 2000, he was 
appointed as European Managing Director of the Group and 
was responsible for the overall management of the Group’s 
European businesses. On 3 February 2003, James was 
appointed as Deputy Chairman and on 30 June 2014 appointed 
as Non-Executive Chairman. James moved to a non-executive 
role on 1 May 2012.

James is Chairman of the Nomination Committee.

Between October 1998 and March 2000, Duncan was the 
Controller for the European, Middle Eastern and African 
regions for Dell Computer Corporation, prior to which he 
spent eight years working for LSI Logic Corporation where 
he held senior financial positions in both Europe and Silicon 
Valley. From 1985 to 1990, Duncan spent five years at 
Coopers & Lybrand in general practice and corporate finance. 

He joined XP Power in April 2000 as Group Finance Director. 
On 3 February 2003, he was appointed as Chief Executive.

Mike Laver
President, Worldwide 
Sales and Marketing  
(age 53)

Jonathan Rhodes 
Finance Director  
(age 44)

Mike has 20 years’ experience in the power converter 
industry. After completing his degree in Electrical 
Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, Mike held sales and 
technical positions with Power Systems Distributors, 
Compumech and Delta Lu Research. He joined 
ForeSight Electronics in 1991 and held various senior 
roles prior to their acquisition of XP Power in 2000.

Mike is currently responsible for global sales and 
marketing.

He joined the Board on 20 August 2002.

Jonathan joined the finance team of XP Power 
in July 2008 as European Controller. Prior to 
joining the Group, Jonathan spent nine years with 
JCDecaux in various senior financial positions 
including Head of Financial Reporting and worked in 
both its UK and North American operations. Prior to 
that, he spent three years with Mills & Allen.

Jonathan was appointed Finance Director in 
December 2011.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Andy Sng
General Manager,  
Asia 
(age 45)

Andy joined the Group in July 2005 as General Manager 
for Asia to start and head up our Shanghai operations. He 
joined the Board in February 2007. 

Prior to joining XP Power, Andy has worked in the power 
supply industry for eight years in various technical and 
commercial roles with companies such as Silicon Systems 
(Singapore) and Advanced Micro Devices (Singapore).

Peter Bucher
Non-Executive Director 
(age 72)

Peter joined the Board on 1 January 2014. He is well 
known within the power converter industry and spent his 
entire career at Traco Electronic AG (“Traco”) in Zurich, 
Switzerland. Peter joined Traco in 1967 and in 1985 was 
appointed Managing Director, a position he held until his 
retirement in 2009. Under Peter’s leadership Traco was 
built into a highly respected company with revenues in 
excess of US$100 million. 

Peter is a member of the Remuneration Committee and 
the Audit Committee.

43

Polly Williams
Non-Executive Director 
(age 50)

Terry Twigger 
Senior Non-Executive 
Director 
(age 66)

Polly joined the Board on 1 January 2016. Polly is a chartered 
accountant and a former Partner at KPMG LLP. She resigned 
from her partnership in 2003 and since then has held a number 
of non-executive directorship roles, including at APS Financial 
Limited, Z Group plc, National Counties Building Society (as 
Chairman) and Scotiabank Ireland Limited. She is currently a 
Non-Executive Director at Jupiter Fund Management plc, TSB 
Group plc and Daiwa Capital Markets Europe Limited. She is 
also a Trustee of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.

Polly is Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of 
the Audit Committee.

Terry joined the Board on 1 January 2015 and has a wealth of 
public company experience.

Terry joined Meggitt PLC, the FTSE100 global engineering 
group specialising in extreme environment components 
and smart sub-systems for aerospace, defence and energy 
markets, in July 1993 and spent 20 years with the group, the 
last 12 as Chief Executive. During his tenure as Chief Executive 
Meggitt grew its revenues from £0.4bn to £1.6bn through 
a combination of organic growth and numerous successful 
acquisitions. He retired from Meggitt in May 2013 and is 
currently a Non-Executive Director of Essentra plc, the supplier 
of specialist plastic, fibre, foam and packaging products. Terry 
is also the Non-Executive Chairman of Auctus Scorpion Topco 
Limited, an aerospace company.

Terry is the Senior Non-Executive Director and Chairman of the 
Audit Committee. Terry is also a member of the Nomination 
Committee and the Remuneration Committee.

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THE BOARD 
OF DIRECTORS
Non-Executive 
Chairman 
James Peters 
(appointed 1 July 2014)

44

EXECUTIVE 
MANAGEMENT TEAM
11 persons  

Responsible for executing 
the Board’s strategy
Day to day running of 
the business
Acting on whistle blowing

The full team meet face to face at 
least three times a year.
A sub-set of the team conducts a 
monthly business review by 
teleconference. 

AUDIT COMMITTEE
Chair Terry Twigger  
(appointed 1 January 2015)

NOMINATION COMMITTEE
Chair James Peters   
(appointed 1 January 2015)

Financial Reporting
Compliance

External audit
Internal controls

Board Composition
Board Appointments

REMUNERATION COMMITTEE
Chair Polly Williams  
(appointed 1 January 2016)

Directors’ Pay
Executive Management 
Team Incentive Plans

Share Incentive 
Plans

SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
Chair Sean Ross    
(appointed 1 January 2015)

Corporate social responsibility
Sustainability initiatives

Leadership
A.1 The role of the Board
Main principle:
Every company should be headed by an  
effective Board which is collectively 
responsible for the long-term success of 
the company.

The Directors have considered the 
composition and structure of the Board 
and have concluded that it is appropriate 
for a Company of the size and complexity 
of XP Power. Despite not being considered 
independent by the Corporate Governance 
guidelines, the involvement of James Peters 
(Non-Executive Chairman) as a founder with 
a substantial shareholding is considered of 
benefit to shareholders, aligning the interests 
of shareholders with the Board. 

The following matters are specifically 
reserved for the Board’s decision:

 } opinion of the Group’s viability and going 

concern

 } approval of strategic plans, financial 
plans and budgets and any material 
changes to them

 } oversight of the Group’s operations, 
ensuring competent and prudent 
management, sound planning, an 
adequate system of internal control and 
adequate accounting and other records

 } changes to the structure, size and 

composition of the Board

 } consideration of the independence of 

Non-Executive Directors

 } review of management structure and 
senior management responsibilities

 } with the assistance of the Remuneration 
Committee, approval of remuneration 
policies across the Group

 } final approval of annual financial 

statements and accounting policies

 } approval of the dividend policy

 } approval of the acquisition or disposal of 
subsidiaries and major investments and 
capital projects

 } delegation of the Board’s powers and 
authorities including the division of 
responsibilities between the Chairman, 
Chief Executive and the other Executive 
Directors.

A.2 Division of Responsibilities
Main principle:
There should be a clear division of 
responsibilities at the head of the 
company between the running of the 
board and the executive responsibility for 
the running of the Company’s business. 
No one individual should have unfettered 
power of decision.

The roles of Non-Executive Chairman 
(James Peters) and Chief Executive (Duncan 
Penny) are separate and clearly defined. 
The Chairman is responsible for the running 
of Board Meetings as well as taking the 
lead on strategy. The Chief Executive is 
responsible for the day to day running of the 
Company and the execution of the strategy.

A.3 The Chairman
Main principle:
The Chairman is responsible for the 
leadership of the Board and ensuring its 
effectiveness on all aspects of its role.

The Chairman sets the calendar and agenda 
of the Board and facilitates the discussions. 
The Chairman also initiates and coordinates 
the processes defined below which evaluate 
the effectiveness of the Board and of the 
individual Directors.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Effectiveness
B.1 The Composition of the Board
Main principle:
The Board and its Committees should have the appropriate balance of skills, 
experience, independence and knowledge of the company to enable them to 
discharge their respective duties and responsibilities effectively.

The Directors consider that the Board and Committees have the appropriate balance of 
skills, experience, independence and knowledge to discharge their duties effectively. 

The Board considers Peter Bucher, Terry Twigger and Polly Williams to be independent.

The Corporate Governance guidelines do not consider James Peters to be independent by 
virtue of his previous executive roles. However, as a founder and substantial shareholder his 
membership of the Board is considered beneficial to shareholders as a whole.

45

B.2 Appointments to the Board
Main principle:
There should be a formal, rigorous and transparent procedure for the appointment of 
new Directors to the Board. 

Nomination Committee

The Nomination Committee consists of James Peters (Chair) and Terry Twigger (appointed 
24 July 2015). John Dyson will not be offering himself for re-election at the forthcoming 
Annual General Meeting. The Committee reviews and considers the appointment of new 
Directors. All Non-Executive Directors are given the opportunity to interview any proposed 
candidates. Any appointment of a new Director is voted on by the whole Board. 

The Nomination Committee met once during the year. The attendees were as follows: 

Date

Attendees

24 July 2015

All and Peter Bucher (guest), Duncan Penny (guest).

The Terms of Reference of the Nomination Committee are available in the Corporate 
Governance section of the Company’s website www.xppower.com.

B.3 Commitment
Main principle:
All Directors should be able to allocate sufficient time to the Company to discharge 
their responsibilities effectively.

There were six Board Meetings during the year. The attendees were as follows:

Date

Attendees

20 February 2015

9 April 2015

20 May 2015

24 July 2015

8 October 2015

16 December 2015

All

All

All

All

All

All

A.4 Non-Executive Directors
Main principle:
As part of their role as members of a 
unitary board, Non-Executive Directors 
should constructively challenge and help 
develop proposals on strategy.

Other than their normal attendance and 
participation in discussions at Board 
meetings, the Non-Executive Directors 
actively participate in the Company’s 
strategy meetings and are able to question, 
challenge and coach the managers 
attending these meetings.

During the year the Non-Executive Directors 
reviewed the executive management 
team’s three year organic growth 
projections; received a presentation on 
the environmental and sustainability policy 
to review achievements and objectives; 
received an update on the Company’s ethics 
policy; and received metrics updates on 
health and safety and diversity.

Terry Twigger is the Senior Independent 
Non-Executive Director.

Sign posting for pageOr caption24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015governance rePorTCORPORATE GOvERNANCE REPORT

46

B.4 Development
Main principle:
All Directors should receive induction on 
joining the Board and should regularly 
update and refresh their knowledge and 
skills.

B.6 Evaluation
Main principle:
The Board should undertake a formal 
and rigorous annual evaluation of its own 
performance and that of its Committees 
and individual directors.

The Board has a process for performance 
evaluation that has been applied to the 
Board and its Committees for 2015. 
This process was based on completion of 
a questionnaire by the Directors in relation 
to the Board and each of the committees 
of which they were members and to the 
performance of individual Directors. The 
responses were collated and reviewed by 
the Chairman and distributed to all Directors 
for discussion at a Board Meeting. This 
review considers the effectiveness and 
diversity of the Board as well as succession.

B.7 Re-election 
Main principle:
All Directors should be submitted for 
re-election at regular intervals, subject to 
continued satisfactory performance.

The Company’s Articles of Association 
require Directors to seek election at the first 
AGM following their appointment. Thereafter, 
Directors are required to retire and offer 
themselves for re-election at least every 
three years. Rather than retire by rotation to 
seek re-election, all Directors now voluntarily 
offer themselves for re-election annually.

Directors receive an induction on joining 
the Board. Presentations and training were 
carried out during the year on corporate 
social responsibility and environmental 
matters. Non-Executive Directors are 
introduced to Senior Managers below board 
level and participate in strategy meetings. 
They are also able to meet with managers 
on an informal basis to help them gain a 
deeper understanding of the business and 
contribute ideas. 

B.5 Information and support
Main principle:
The Board should be supplied in a timely 
manner with information in a form and 
of a quality appropriate to enable it to 
discharge its duties.

The Board receives “flash” reports, detailed 
management accounts and detailed financial 
forecasts on a monthly basis to enable it 
to review trading performance, forecasts 
and strategy implementation. Board 
meeting materials are provided in advance 
of Board meetings to allow Directors 
sufficient time to prepare adequately. The 
Board has also requested and received 
specific presentations and information from 
management during the year covering 
areas such as organic growth projections 
over a three year period, a detailed tax and 
treasury review, the Company’s approach to 
environmental matters, results and actions 
arising from an employee survey, a cyber 
security review, whistle blowing procedures 
and health and safety metrics and actions.

Accountability
C.1 Financial and business 
reporting
Main principle:
The Board should present a balanced 
and understandable assessment of the 
Company’s position and prospects.

The Board considers that both the Interim 
Report and Annual Report and Accounts, 
supported by quarterly trading updates 
which are timetabled at the beginning 
of each year, comprehensively fulfil this 
requirement. The Annual Report includes a 
detailed description of the Group’s strategy 
and business model which has enabled it to 
generate significant value over a prolonged 
period of time. It also details the significant 
risks that the Group faces and how these 
are mitigated and includes the Board’s 
assessment of the longer term viability of 
the Group.

The Company also makes available a 
number of videos on its investor relations 
website at the time of its interim and 
annual reporting as well as investor videos 
describing products, markets, strategy, 
business model, growth drivers and its 
investment proposition.

Going concern

The Directors, after making enquiries, are 
of the view, as at the time of approving 
the accounts, that there is a reasonable 
expectation that the Company will have 
adequate resources to continue operating 
for the foreseeable future and therefore the 
going concern basis has been adopted in 
preparing these accounts. In addition, in 
accordance with C.2.2 of the revision of the 
Code, the Directors have considered the 
prospects of the Company over the longer 
term and provided a Viability Statement on 
page 37.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5C.2 Risk management and internal 
control
Main principle:
The Board is responsible for determining 
the nature and extent of the significant 
risks it is willing to take in achieving its 
strategic objectives. The Board should 
maintain sound risk management and 
internal control systems.

C.3 Audit Committee and Auditor
Main principle:
The Board should establish formal and 
transparent arrangements for considering 
how it should apply the corporate 
reporting and risk management and 
internal control principles, and for 
maintaining an appropriate relationship 
with the Company’s auditor.

The Board acknowledges that it is 
responsible for the Group’s internal controls 
and for reviewing their effectiveness. The 
Group’s internal controls are designed to 
manage rather than eliminate the risk of 
failure to meet business objectives, and 
can only provide reasonable not absolute 
assurance against material misstatement 
or loss.

An ongoing process for identifying, 
evaluating and managing the significant risks 
faced by the Group was in place during the 
entire financial year and has remained in 
place up to the approval date of the Annual 
Report and Financial Statements. The 
identified risks and the processes by which 
these are addressed are documented, 
reviewed and updated at Board meetings. 
The Directors confirm that an assessment 
of the principal risks facing the Group 
was reviewed, further details of which are 
included in the Managing Our Risks and 
Viability Statement sections within the 
Strategic Report on pages 34 to 37.

As might be expected in a group of this size, 
a key control procedure is the day to day 
supervision of the business by the Executive 
Directors supported by managers within the 
Group companies. Examples of key controls 
with respect to ongoing processes include:

 } Authority matrices are in place to clearly 
define who is able to authorise particular 
transactions, transfer funds, commit 
Company resources and enter into 
particular agreements.

 } Monthly reporting of management 
accounts and key metrics to senior 
management with performance 
measured to budget and material 
variances reported to the Board.

 } Quality control checks throughout our 
manufacturing process, burn in, 100% 
functional testing, and quality inspection. 

 } Disaster recovery and business continuity 

plans are in place at all facilities, 
documented and communicated to key 
personnel to help cope with unexpected 
events.

The Report of the Audit Committee 
on pages 48 to 49 sets out in detail 
the Group’s arrangements to ensure 
corporate reporting complies with legal and 
accounting standards together with effective 
risk management and internal control 
processes and appropriate supervision and 
performance of the external auditor.

The Terms of Reference of the Audit 
Committee are available in the Corporate 
Governance section of the Company’s 
website www.xppower.com.

Remuneration
D.1 The level and components of 
remuneration
Main principle:
Levels of remuneration should be 
sufficient to attract, retain and motivate 
Directors of the quality required to 
run the Company successfully, but a 
Company should avoid paying more 
than is necessary for this purpose. 
A significant proportion of executive 
Directors’ remuneration should be 
structured so as to link rewards to 
corporate and individual performance.

Our approach to remuneration is set out 
in detail in the Report of the Remuneration 
Committee on pages 50 to 61.

D.2 Procedure
Main principle:
There should be a formal and transparent 
procedure for developing policy on 
executive remuneration and for fixing 
the remuneration packages of individual 
Directors. No Director should be involved 
in deciding his or her own remuneration.

Our policy regarding remuneration is set out 
in detail in the Report of the Remuneration 
Committee on pages 50 to 61. No Director 
participates in the deciding of their own 
remuneration. Polly Williams (appointed 
1 January 2016) is Chair of the 
Remuneration Committee.

The Terms of Reference of the 
Remuneration Committee are available in 
the Corporate Governance section of the 
Company’s website www.xppower.com.

47

Relations with shareholders
E.1 Dialogue with shareholders
Main principle:
There should be a dialogue with 
shareholders based on the mutual 
understanding of objectives. The 
Board as a whole has responsibility for 
ensuring that a satisfactory dialogue with 
shareholders takes place.

The Group engages in two-way 
communication with both its institutional 
and private investors and responds quickly 
to all queries received. The Group uses its 
website www.xppower.com to give private 
investors access to the same information 
that institutional investors receive in terms 
of investor presentations and research 
where it is permitted to be distributed. This 
includes video interviews with the Chief 
Executive and Finance Director available 
on the morning of the day that the interim 
and annual results are published. The 
Company also makes available a number of 
informational videos on its investor relations 
website which cover products, markets, 
strategy, business model, growth drivers 
and its investment proposition.

Interested parties are also able to register 
for the Group’s email alert service on this 
website to receive timely announcements 
and other information published from time 
to time. 

The Board members receive any feedback 
prepared by brokers or our financial 
PR company following meetings with 
shareholders in order to keep in touch with 
shareholder opinion.

E.2 Constructive use of the AGM
Main principle:
The Board should use the Annual 
General Meeting to communicate 
with investors and to encourage their 
participation.

The AGM is used as an opportunity to 
communicate with shareholders and certain 
Directors are available to answer any 
questions.

Sign posting for pageOr caption24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015governance rePorTREPORT FROM ThE ChAIR OF ThE AUDIT COMMITTEE

“Within this year’s report, the Company has adopted 
the new and revised auditor reporting standards, one 
year earlier than legally required by Singapore law. This 
provides readers with greater transparency of the key 
audit matters that have been discussed and an improved 
understanding of the audit process.”

48

Terry Twigger  audit Committee Chair

22 February 2016

As Chairman of the XP Power Limited Audit 
Committee, I am pleased to present the 2015 
Audit Committee Report to shareholders and 
to be able to confirm on behalf of the Board, 
that the Annual Report is fair, balanced and 
understandable.

Members of the  
Audit Committee
Terry Twigger (Chair), Independent 
Non-Executive Director (appointed 
1 January 2015)

The Audit Committee has been strengthened 
during the year by the addition of Peter 
Bucher, who brings considerable commercial 
and industry expertise to the committee’s 
deliberations. Polly Williams, a chartered 
accountant, joined the committee on 1 January 
2016 and provides additional financial depth 
and public company experience.

The Audit Committee is satisfied that the 
Company has maintained appropriate risk 
management and internal controls throughout 
the year.

The report aims to provide you with the 
following information:

 } How the Audit Committee operates and 
engages with the Company, including 
the Group Assurance function and the 
Executive Directors.

 } The key activities which were reviewed by 

the Audit Committee, including those items 
of regular annual review and other current 
areas of focus.

 } The discussion and actions undertaken, in 

conjunction with the external auditor, on any 
significant judgements and / or issues.

 } Details of the ongoing review of the external 
auditor and the amount of non-audit work 
undertaken.

The Audit Committee continues to review the 
role and independence of the external auditor 
and has reported to the Board that the re-
appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
should be proposed at the forthcoming Annual 
General Meeting, and I hope that you will 
support me in this resolution.

Peter Bucher, Independent Non-Executive 
Director (appointed 24 July 2015)

John Dyson, Non-Executive Director 

Polly Williams, Independent Non-Executive 
Director (appointed 1 January 2016)

Governance
All the Audit Committee members, except 
John Dyson are independent Non-Executive 
Directors, and have financial and / or related 
business experience gained in senior positions 
in others diverse organisation. Despite not 
being independent, the Board considers 
that John Dyson’s financial background, 
public company experience and knowledge 
of the Company makes him well equipped 
to serve on the Audit Committee. John will 
not be offering himself for re-election at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting. 

Terry Twigger has been the Chairman of the 
Audit Committee since 2015, and the Board 
is satisfied that Terry has recent and relevant 
financial experience.

Meetings of the  
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee met three times during 
2015, the attendees were as follows: 

Attendees

Date

17 February 2015

21 July 2015

8 October 2015

with the external auditor without the Group’s 
management being present. During the year, 
the Committee met with the Group Treasury 
and Tax Manager.

The Audit Committee supports the Board and 
report to it on a regular basis, certainly no 
less frequently than at every Board meeting 
following a meeting of the Audit Committee.

There is an annual cycle of items that are 
to be considered by the Audit Committee. 
The timetable of these items is scheduled in 
accordance with the requirement of the annual 
audit cycle and any other requirements of the 
Audit Committee.

Responsibilities of the  
Audit Committee
The Committee is responsible for, amongst 
other things;

 } Ensuring that the financial performance 
of the Group is properly reported and 
monitored;

 } Compliance with legal requirements;

 } Adoption and correct implementation of 

accounting standards; 

 } Meeting the requirements of the UK Listing 

Authority; 

 } Assessing the Group’s internal control 
processes and assurance framework;

 } Supervising the relationship and 

performance of the external auditor; and 

 } Reviewing the nature and extent of audit 
and non-audit services provided to the 
Group by the external auditors. 

All

All

All

The Terms of Reference of the Audit 
Committee are available in the Corporate 
Governance section of the Company’s website 
www.xppower.com.

The external auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers 
LLP, the Finance Director and Group Financial 
Controller were invited and present at each 
of the meetings. The Committee also met 

The Committee has formalised its policy and 
approved a set of procedures in relation to the 
appointment of external auditors to undertake 
audit and non-audit work. Under this policy: 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 549

 } the award of audit-related services to the 
auditors in excess of £50,000 must first 
be approved by the Chairman of the Audit 
Committee, who in his decision to approve 
will take into account the aggregate of 
audit-related revenue already earned by the 
auditor in that year. Audit-related services 
include formalities relating to borrowing, 
shareholder and other circulars, regulatory 
reports, work relating to disposals and 
acquisitions, tax assurance work and 
advice on accounting policies; 

 } the award of tax consulting services to the 
auditors in excess of £100,000 must first 
be approved by the Chairman of the Audit 
Committee; 

 } the award of other non-audit related 
services to the auditors in excess of 
£20,000 must first be approved by the 
Chairman of the Audit Committee; and

 } the auditors will be required to make a 
formal report to the Audit Committee 
annually on the safeguards that are in place 
to maintain their independence and the 
internal safeguards in place to ensure their 
objectivity.

The current external auditor, 
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, was appointed 
in 2007. The current audit engagement 
partner’s term began in 2014 with a maximum 
term of five years. In line with best practice 
as recommended by the Financial Reporting 
Guideline, the external audit is anticipated to be 
re-tendered between 2017 and 2019.

Activities of the  
Audit Committee
Financial statements and reports

 } Examined the 31 December 2014 Annual 
Report and the 30 June 2015 Half Year 
Report. This involved reviewing, challenging 
and recommending for approval the 
going concern basis of preparation, the 
accounting policies and disclosures, 
the financial reporting issues and the 
assumptions and adjustments made.

 } Reviewed in detail the key judgements 

of the Financial Statements and levels of 
disclosure.

 } Reviewed the effectiveness of the Group’s 
internal controls and disclosures made 
in the Annual Report and Financial 
Statements.

 } Reviewed the results of the finance 

functions’ peer to peer balance sheet 
review.

 } Reviewed the Group’s tax and treasury 

functions.

 } Reviewed the key responsibilities of the 

Directors particularly in relation to the issues 
which should be considered in order to 
conclude that the annual accounts are fair, 
balanced and understandable.

 } Considered the accounting principles to be 
adopted and the preparation of the 2016 
accounts. 

Significant risks and 
judgements in the financial 
reporting
Goodwill
The carrying value of goodwill remains a 
significant item within the Group’s balance 
sheet. Impairment assessments, performed 
annually, require judgements in relation to 
discount rates and future growth forecasts to 
generate discounted cash flows for the cash 
generating units. The Committee asked to 
review the external auditor’s sensitivity analysis 
that had been carried out on the Company’s 
impairment calculations. After consideration, 
the Committee were satisfied that there was no 
indication of impairment.
Capitalised product development
The Group’s product development activity 
leads to direct costs relating to new standard 
products being capitalised and amortised over 
the useful life of the products. The carrying 
value of the product development costs is 
rising and the useful lives of these products 
requires significant judgement. The Committee 
asked to review the current revenue streams of 
the capitalised products against their carrying 
value. The Committee also asked to review a 
projection of the future carrying values based 
on the existing measurement methods and 
linear growth. The Committee was satisfied 
with the judgements used.
Deferred tax on unremitted 
earnings
The Group does not currently record deferred 
tax on the unremitted earnings held in Group 
subsidiaries. The Board recognises that where 
there is no intention to repatriate these earnings 
back to the parent company, deferred tax 
should not be provided. Following the in-depth 
presentation provided by management of the 
Group’s tax and treasury arrangements, the 
Committee determined that there is no specific 
requirement to move earnings currently held in 
subsidiaries.
Inventory
The increasing level of the Group’s inventory, 
for which the carrying value is substantial, was 
another area the Committee reviewed. The high 
product mix and relative low volume of sales is 
a recognised factor in the level of inventory as 
is the effect of certain service level agreements 
with customers. As a consequence finished 

goods inventory may be exposed to risk of 
obsolescence and the Committee therefore 
asked to review internal results of tests to 
measure the adequacy of the provision as well 
as the results of the external auditor’s focus on 
this area. The Committee were satisfied with 
the provision.

Business Combination
Following the acquisition of the assets and 
business of EMCO High Voltage Corporation 
(EMCO) on 24 November 2015, the Committee 
reviewed the values of the intangible assets 
and was satisfied with the provisional values 
attributed to them.

Internal Control
The Board is ultimately responsible for the 
Group’s system of internal controls and the 
ongoing assessment of these further details of 
which are included in C.2 Risk Management 
and Internal Control of the Corporate 
Governance section on page 47.

Internal Control Assurance
The internal financial control function conduct 
regular peer to peer balance sheet reviews, 
the results of which are reported to the Audit 
Committee, Finance Director and Chief 
Executive. The Audit Committee reviews 
and approves the scope and schedule for 
these reviews. During the year the committee 
resolved to enhance the review process 
with more standardised testing, greater 
transparency and improved operational tests.

Whilst the Board acknowledges such reviews 
do not amount to a fully independent internal 
audit activity, for a Group the size and 
complexity of XP Power this review process 
provides an appropriate level of comfort over 
the financial controls.

No significant control failings have been 
identified as a result of the reviews 
during 2015.

Each year the committee re-considers the 
requirement for an independent internal audit 
function within the Group and as a result of 
increasing scale and complexity, the committee 
have recommended that the Board include 
a budget for some independent internal 
audit activity in 2016 to cover the operational 
assurance.

Performance Evaluation of 
the Audit Committee
During the year, the Audit Committee reviewed 
its performance. The Committee considered 
it had adequate qualifications and skills to 
perform its responsibilities, particularly through 
Terry Twigger’s financial and management 
background and John Dyson’s financial and 
audit experience.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Sign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015governance rePorTREPORT FROM ThE ChAIR OF ThE 
REMUNERATION COMMITTEE

“Following shareholder feedback from last year’s Annual 
Report, the Committee has sought to address all of 
the concerns raised. This has resulted in changes to 
the membership of the Committee, to foster greater 
independence on remuneration decisions, as well as a 
full review of the remuneration policy and disclosures.”

50

Polly Williams   remuneration Committee Chair

22 February 2016

On behalf of the Board I am pleased to 
present XP Power Limited’s remuneration 
report.

Following shareholder feedback from last 
year’s Annual Report, the Committee has 
sought to address all of the concerns 
raised. This has resulted in changes to the 
membership of the Committee, to foster 
greater independence on remuneration 
decisions, as well as a full review of the 
remuneration policy and disclosures. 
In conducting this policy review, the 
Committee set the following guiding 
principles:

 } A simple and transparent policy for 

staff, shareholders and other interested 
parties;

 } To encourage the appropriate long term 
behaviours and the avoidance of short 
term decision making;

 } To retain the right of discretion to ensure 
fairness, but not be able to bypass the 
structure approved by the Board; and

 } To be mindful of retention with a 
progressive build-up of rewards.

The changes made to the policy are listed 
in more detail below, but key features 
include a greater use of equity awards than 
has been offered in the recent past which 
now comprise ‘gateway’ vesting criteria 
and provisions for claw back and malus. In 
addition to incentivising Executive Directors 
and key management, such awards may 
also be granted to the most talented, 
strong performing sales and engineering 
personnel who are vital to the business. 
Other key features of the policy set minimum 
shareholdings for executives with timescales 
in which they need to be achieved, and for 
the annual bonus plan to be split between 
cash and equity. 

We believe that the revised remuneration 
policy will further incentivise and help to 
retain the current management team. The 
equity awards, in particular, align with the 
Company’s long design-in cycles and 
revenue annuities and the cyclical nature of 
the capital goods market.

We seek your support for the amended 
policy and annual report on remuneration 
and welcome any further comments from 
shareholders with respect to our approach 
to remuneration.

Introduction
This report is on the activities of the 
Remuneration Committee for the period 
to 31 December 2015. It sets out the 
remuneration policy and remuneration 
details for the Executive and Non-Executive 
Directors of the Company. It has been 
prepared in accordance with Schedule 8 of 
The Large and Medium-sized Companies 
and Groups (Accounts and Reports) 
(Amendment) Regulations 2013.

The report is split into two areas: the 
annual report on remuneration and the 
policy report. The policy report will be 
subject to a binding shareholder vote at 
the 2016 Annual General Meeting and 
the policy will take effect from the date on 
which the resolution is passed. The annual 
report on remuneration provides details on 
remuneration in the period and some other 
information required by the Regulations. It 
will be subject to an advisory shareholder 
vote at the 2016 Annual General Meeting.

The auditors have reviewed on certain parts 
of the Directors’ Remuneration Report and 
are required to report if the information is 
materially inconsistent with the financial 
statements. 

Polly Williams  
Remuneration Committee Chair

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5REMUNERATION POLICY

Sign posting for page

Or caption

51

The information in this section of the Directors’ Remuneration Report is not subject to audit.

The objectives of the remuneration policy are as follows:

 } To reward employees and executives appropriately for the work they do (base salary);

 } To provide market competitive remuneration packages to enable retention or recruitment (base salary plus benefits);

 } To incentivise the employees and executives to consistently perform at their best (bonus/shares with vesting criteria);

 } To align shareholder and senior management’s interests (shares/share options); and 

 } To retain key staff (long term structures with delayed vesting).

Summary of proposed changes to the remuneration policy
 — Introduce a long term incentive plan by granting stock option awards. Such awards may be layered in over a number of years to enhance 
commitment, retention and motivation. In addition, it is hoped these will incentivise key employees to take actions with a long term view 
and should complement the relatively long cycle from product design to revenue annuity. In light of this it is proposed to modify the rules 
of the plan to remove the lifetime limit on an individual’s participation in the plan which is currently five times a partcipant’s 
annual remuneration.

 — Revise the annual bonus scheme from a cash only reward to a split reward comprising equal portions of cash and restricted shares. The 
50% cash element would vest immediately after the year to which it relates, following the publication of the audited accounts. The 50% 
share element would be restricted, with half of it vesting after the second year to which it relates and the remainder vesting after the third 
year. Vesting is subject to continual employment with the Company.

 — The annual bonus scheme includes a cap at 100% of base salary, the same level as the existing policy, but an increase from a 50% cap 
in the previous policy applied in 2014. The cap at 100% of base salary is considered appropriate when compared against the relatively 
low fixed component of remuneration, or when compared against equivalent companies within the peer group. In addition, a bonus 
award at the 100% cap would result only from a significant increase in the pre-tax profits of the Group.

 — Malus and claw back provisions have been introduced that allow for the reduction (including to zero) of any bonus or equity awards 
granted but not vested; and the demand for repayment of awards already vested. These clauses would be used in extremis as 
the vesting criteria does allow for a reduction in already allocated awards in the event of a downturn in Company performance. 
Circumstances that would trigger malus or claw back include, but are not limited to, a material misstatement within the Group’s financial 
results as well as non-financial ‘gateway’ criteria such as a major environmental event, a breach of the Company’s code of ethics or a 
serious health and safety issue.

 — Executive Directors must seek to hold a minimum of the equivalent of two years’ salary in shares. The Directors will be given five years to 

build this position following the approval of the policy.

 — Environmental or non-financial targets are not part of the annual bonus criteria but are ‘gateway’ criteria for the vesting of bonus awards 

and stock option grants.

The following table overleaf provides a summary of the key components of the remuneration package for Executive Directors.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015governance rePorTREMUNERATION POLICY

Component

Purpose

Operation

 Opportunity

Applicable 
performance 
measures

Not applicable

Not applicable

As set by the 
Remuneration 
Committee

As set by the 
Remuneration 
Committee

Up to 100% of 
base salary.

In line with 
expectation would 
pay 30% of base 
salary.

Exceeding the profit 
before tax achieved 
in the previous 
financial year, 
with provision for 
adjustments relating 
to significant 
acquisitions.

Price at time of 
exercising less 
grant price.

Annual award value 
of option limited 
to one times base 
salary.

2 to 3% depending 
on geography

Vesting is based on 
Total Shareholder 
Return relative 
to the FTSE 
350 Electronic 
and Electrical 
Equipment Sector. 
Top 20th percentile: 
100% vests. 
Between median 
and top 20th 
percentile: vests 
on a straight-line 
basis between 25% 
and 100%. Below 
median: zero vests

Not applicable

Recovery

There are no 
provisions for 
recovery of salary 
and fees

There are no 
provisions for 
recovery of taxable 
benefits

Malus and claw 
back provisions 
to reduce or 
recover awards for 
criteria such as a 
material financial 
misstatement, 
a major 
environmental 
event; a breach 
of the Company’s 
code of ethics or a 
serious health and 
safety issue. 

Malus and claw 
back provisions 
to reduce or 
recover awards for 
criteria such as a 
material financial 
misstatement, 
a major 
environmental 
event; a breach 
of the Company’s 
code of ethics or a 
serious health and 
safety issue.

There are no 
provisions for 
recovery of 
pension payments 
contributions

Not applicable

Not applicable

Not applicable

Salary and fees

All taxable 
benefits

Annual bonuses

Provide a basic 
salary or fee that 
would be expected 
for the position

Provide basic 
benefits that would 
be expected for the 
position

Align interests of 
executives and 
shareholders in the 
short and medium 
term

52

Long term share 
incentive plans

Align the interests 
of executives and 
shareholders in the 
medium to long 
term

Pensions

Provide a basic 
pension benefit that 
would be expected 
for the position

Shareholding 
(minimum)

Align the interests 
of executives and 
shareholders in the 
long term

Base salaries and 
fees set by the 
Remuneration 
Committee and 
reviewed annually

Private healthcare 
and life assurance 
up to three times 
base salary set by 
the Remuneration 
Committee and 
reviewed annually

50% of bonus is 
paid in cash; 50% 
of bonus paid 
in shares which 
vest evenly over 
two years subject 
to continued 
employment. (Andy 
Sng’s bonus is 
based on gross 
margin for the Asia 
business) 

Share option 
scheme with 50% 
options vesting 
after three years 
from grant and 
50% options 
vesting after four 
years.

Options are granted 
at market value. 

Percentage of base 
salary between 2 
to 3% depending 
on geography 
paid into a defined 
contribution 
scheme

To build a minimum 
shareholding 
equivalent to 
one year’s salary 
(two year’s salary 
for CEO) over a 
period of five years 
following approval 
of the policy 

The performance targets above were chosen as they are considered suitable for aligning the interests of the executives with those of 
shareholders.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Non-Executive Director fees
The following table provides a summary of the key elements of the remuneration package for Non-Executive Directors:

Element

Fees

Purpose

Operation

Attract and retain individuals of high calibre

Fixed fee

Additional fees payable for 
– Senior Independent Director 
–  Chairing committees, being a member of 

a Committee

Additional fee of £5,000
Included in the fixed annual fee

Approach to Executive recruitment
In the event of the recruitment of a new Executive Director the Committee would take into consideration the structure and levels of the 
remuneration for existing Directors and prevailing market together with the skills and value it believed the new Director would bring to the 
Company. It is therefore expected that a new Director’s package would include the same elements as existing Directors and the maximum 
level of variable remuneration would also be capped at 100% of base salary as it is for existing Executive Directors. 

53

Executive Directors’ contracts
The Executive Directors’ contracts run for an indefinite period, with the Company being able to terminate the contracts without cause giving 
12 months’ notice. When a Director’s contract is terminated without cause, the Director is entitled to a termination payment of 12 months of 
basic pay. Directors’ service contracts are available for inspection at the Annual General Meeting of the Company.

Non-Executive Directors’ contracts
The Non-Executive Directors’ contracts run for an indefinite period, with the Company being able to terminate the contracts without cause 
giving 12 months’ notice. If the shareholders do not re-elect a Non-Executive Director, or they are retired from office under the Articles, their 
appointment terminates automatically, with immediate effect and without compensation. Non-Executive Directors are not entitled to share 
options or pensions.

Illustration of the application of the remuneration policy
The charts below give an indication of the level of remuneration that would be received by each Executive Director in accordance with the 
Directors’ remuneration policy in its first year of operation (excluding share price appreciation):

Chief Executive Officer 
Duncan Penny

271,108

President – Worldwide Sales and Marketing 
Mike Laver

230,521

Minimum

In line with
expectation

Maximum

271,108

77,000

271,108

260,000

Minimum

In line with
expectation

Maximum

230,521

47,500

230,521

220,000

Finance Director 
Jonathan Rhodes

146,297

Minimum

In line with
expectation

Maximum

146,297           21,000

146,297

140,000

General Manager – Asia
Andy Sng

155,558

Minimum

In line with
expectation

Maximum

155,558        19,500

155,558

112,500

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The charts provide estimates of the potential future reward opportunities for each Executive Director, and the potential split between the 
different elements of remuneration under three different performance scenarios: “Minimum”, “In line with expectation” and “Maximum”.

The “In line with expectation” scenario has been calculated based on the 2016 approved budget.

The “Maximum” scenario has been calculated assuming that the Directors achieve the maximum allowed variable bonus which is capped 
at 100% of their respective base salaries. In order for all Directors to achieve the maximum variable bonus, profit before tax would have to 
reach £45.7 million in 2016.

The fixed element of remuneration includes base salary, benefit in kind and pension contributions. The benefits in kind are measured 
according to their taxable value as follows:

54

Position

Chief Executive

Finance Director

Name

Base salary

Duncan Penny

£260,000

Benefits

£3,308

Pension

Total fixed pay

£7,800

£271,108

Jonathan 
Rhodes

£140,000

£2,097

£4,200

£146,297

President Worldwide Sales and Marketing

Mike Laver

US$330,000

US$18,714

US$5,200

US$353,914

General Manager Asia

Andy Sng

S$225,000

S$87,450

S$14,450

S$326,900

The Company provides share options as a long term incentive to Executive Directors. Unvested share options vest in October 2016. It is 
not possible to predict the value of these awards as it is dependent on the share price at the time the options vest and is also contingent 
on meeting the performance criteria of total shareholder return versus the FTSE 350 Electronic and Electrical Equipment Sector. The table 
below shows the number of unvested share options and their potential value assuming the share price was £14.52 which was the closing 
price on 31 December 2015:

Duncan Penny

Mike Laver

Jonathan Rhodes

Andy Sng

Total shareholder return 
less than median percentile

Total shareholder return 
between median percentile 
and 20th percentile

Total shareholder return 
above the 20th percentile

Zero

Zero

Zero

Zero

£94,875

£94,875

£25,300

£25,300

£379,500

£379,500

£101,200

£101,200

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
REMUNERATION REPORT – ANNUAL REPORT

Responsibilities of the Remuneration Committee
Executive remuneration packages are prudently designed to attract, motivate and retain Directors of the high calibre needed to maintain the 
Group’s position and to reward them for enhancing shareholder value. It is the responsibility of the Committee to consider the experience 
and value the individual Directors contribute to the Group; measure the performance of the Executive Directors and key members of senior 
management and determine their annual remuneration package.

Members of the Remuneration Committee
Peter Bucher (Chair), Independent Non-Executive Director

John Dyson, Non-Executive Director 

James Peters, Non–Executive Director (resigned 24 July 2015)

Terry Twigger, Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 24 July 2015)

55

With effect from 1 January 2016, Polly Williams, Independent Non-Executive Director was appointed Chair of the Remuneration Committee. 
Peter Bucher remains on the Committee after stepping down as Chair. John Dyson will not be offering himself for re-election at the 
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Meetings of the Remuneration Committee
The Remuneration Committee met two times during 2015. The attendees were as follows: 

Date

Attendees

24 July 2015

All, and Duncan Penny (guest), James Peters (guest).

16 December 2015

All, and Duncan Penny (guest), James Peters (guest).

Performance evaluation
During the year, the Committee reviewed its performance and considered it had the skills and experience to perform its responsibilities.

Remuneration for the Executive Directors
There are five main elements of the remuneration package for Executive Directors and senior management:

 } Basic annual salary;

 } Benefits-in-kind;

 } Annual bonuses;

 } Long term share incentives; and

 } Pension arrangements.

The Company’s policy is that a proportion of the remuneration of the Executive Directors should be performance-related. As described 
below, Executive Directors may earn annual bonuses together with the long term benefits of participation in share option schemes.

The Committee makes recommendations to the Board. No Director plays a part in any discussion regarding his own remuneration.

Basic salary
Directors’ basic salaries are reviewed by the Committee each year and when an individual changes position or responsibility. Basic salaries 
for all Directors were reviewed as follows:

Executive

Mike Laver 

Duncan Penny

Jonathan Rhodes

Andy Sng

Base salary

Date of 
last review

Effective date of 
last increase

US$330,000

16 December 2015

1 January 2012

£260,000

16 December 2015

1 January 2012 

£140,000

16 December 2015

1 July 2014

S$225,000

16 December 2015

1 January 2008

Executive Directors’ contracts of service, which include details of remuneration, will be available for inspection at the Annual General 
Meeting.

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Benefits-in-kind
The Executive and Non-Executive Directors receive certain benefits-in-kind, principally life assurance and private medical insurance. 
In addition, Andy Sng receives a housing allowance relating to his relocation to Shanghai where he spends approximately half his time. 

Annual bonuses
The Committee establishes the profit thresholds that must be met for each financial year before a cash or share bonus is to be paid. The 
Committee believes that any incentive compensation awarded should be tied to the interests of the Company’s shareholders. Account is 
also taken of the relative success of the different parts of the business for which the Executive Directors are responsible. £90,240 will be 
paid in bonuses to the Directors in respect of 2015. For Duncan Penny and Jonathan Rhodes the bonus relates to achieving growth of 6% 
after adjusting for exceptional items in the Group’s profit before tax over 2014 while for Mike Laver, the bonus relates to achieving growth in 
the Group’s gross margin of 8.4% after adjusting for EMCO gross margin over 2014. Andy Sng’s bonus relates to the growth in the gross 
margin of the business in Asia only. 

56

Malus and claw back provisions have been introduced to the Directors’ bonus arrangements for 2016 with the incentive structure remaining 
similar to the previous year. Duncan Penny and Jonathan Rhodes are incentivised on growing the Group’s profit before tax achieved in 2015 
and Mike Laver is awarded on the growth in the Group’s gross margin over 2015. Andy Sng’s bonus remains unchanged relating to the 
gross margin of the Asia business. All bonuses remain capped at 100% of base salary. 

Long term share incentives
Deferred payment share plan
The Group had operated a deferred payment share plan which gave participants the opportunity to purchase shares in the Company at 
market value with payment deferred until the shares are sold. This arrangement strongly aligns the interest of the participant directly with 
those of the shareholders with the participant exposed to any increase or decrease in the market value of the shares concerned. Shares 
purchased under this arrangement could not be sold for four years from the date of the award. Dividends accruing on the shares are paid to 
the participants.

Share option plans
The Group operated The XP Power Share Option Plan (the “Plan”) as approved by the shareholders on 2 April 2012. This Plan allowed the 
Company to grant options up to 1,924,229 shares representing 10% of the issued share capital at the time the Plan was set up. No options 
have been awarded under this scheme during the year.

At 31 December 2015, the total number of unvested share options in this scheme was 345,000. Their potential value, assuming 100% of 
the awards vest using the closing share price of £14.52 on 31 December 2015, was £1,745,700. The vesting term and performance criteria 
for these are outlined on page 60 of this report. 

Future scheme terms will be in accordance with the criteria set out in this remuneration policy, if approved.

Pension arrangements
In the UK the Group operates a “Stakeholder Pension Scheme” and contributes 3% of base salary into this scheme on behalf of the 
participants including Executive Directors.

In the USA, the Group operates a defined contribution “401K Plan”. The Group matches the Director’s contribution to this plan up to a 
maximum of 2% of salary.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 557

Performance graph 
The following graph shows the Company’s performance, compared with the performance of the FTSE 350 Electronic and Electrical 
Equipment Price Index from 10 October 2012, the date of issue of the unvested share options, to 31 December 2015.

650

600

550

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

r
e
w
o
P
P
X
o
t
d
e
s
a
b
e
r
n
r
u
t
e
R

l
a
t
o
T

Oct-12

Oct-13

Oct-14

Oct-15

XP Power

FTSE All Share Electronic and 
Electrical Equipment 

FTSE 350 Electronic and 
Electrical Equipment 

The compound average growth rate total shareholder return from 10 October 2012 until 31 December 2015 was 20%.

Chief Executive remuneration
The table below sets out the details of the Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive Officer.

£ Thousands

Base 
salary

Pension

Relocation 
expenses

Benefits

Annual 
bonus

Total CEO 
remuneration

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

235

254

260

260

260

7

8

8

8

8

77

8

–

–

–

8

4

3

3

3

–

–

–

–

39

328

274

271

271

310

Relocation expenses relate to Duncan Penny’s relocation from the UK to Singapore for the period 2007 to 2012.

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REMUNERATION REPORT – ANNUAL REPORT

The table below shows the percentage change in remuneration of the Director undertaking the role of Chief Executive Officer and the 
Company’s employees as a whole in 2015 and 2014.

Percentage increase in remuneration in 2015 compared with 2014

Base salary

All taxable benefits

Annual bonuses

Total

CEO

0%

0%

100%

0%

Chosen 
employee group1

2%

2%

2%

2%

Note 1 – The chosen employee group for this comparison excludes Chinese employees where there has been significant salary inflation.

58

Total pay for 
manufacturing
(£ millions)

5.3

8.2

6.1

+34%

2013

2014

2015

Total pay  
for sales, 
administration 
and R&D
(£ millions)

+6%

19.7

18.5

17.6

27.9

24.6

22.9

Total 
employee pay
(£ millions)

+13%

2013

2014

2015

2013

2014

2015

Operating 
income
(£ millions)

+5%

24.5

23.3

25.6

Dividends
(£ millions)

+9%

12.0

11.0

10.0

2013

2014

2015

2013

2014

2015

All Non-Executive Directors have specific terms of engagement and their remuneration is determined by the Board within the limits set by the 
Articles of Association. The annual fee for each Non-Executive Director is set out below:

Non-Executive

James Peters

Peter Bucher

John Dyson

Terry Twigger

Polly Williams

Fee

£50,000

£40,000

£40,000

£40,000

£40,000

Date of 
last review

16 December 2015

16 December 2015

16 December 2015

16 December 2015

Effective date of 
last change

25 July 2014

1 January 2015

1 January 2014

1 January 2015

Not applicable

Appointed 1 January 2016

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Aggregate Directors’ remuneration
The total amounts for Directors’ remuneration were as follows:

£

Basic salaries 

Benefits in kind 

Annual bonus

Money purchase pension contributions 

Non-Executive Director fees

Total remuneration 

Directors’ remuneration for 2015

2015

721,937

 61,084

 90,240

 22,320

170,000

1,065,581

2014

699,513

 58,537

 8,310

 21,685

170,000

958,045

59

Name of Director

£

Executive

Duncan Penny

Mike Laver

Jonathan Rhodes 

Andy Sng

Non-Executive

James Peters

Terry Twigger

John Dyson

Peter Bucher

Directors’ remuneration for 2014

Name of Director

£

Executive

Duncan Penny

Mike Laver

Jonathan Rhodes 

Andy Sng

Non-Executive

Larry Tracey
(resigned 30 June 2014)

James Peters

John Dyson

David Hempleman-Adams
(resigned 31 December 2014)

Peter Bucher

Salary 
and fees

Annual 
bonus

Pension

Benefits

2015 
Total

260,000

214,945

140,000

106,992

50,000

40,000

40,000

40,000

38,995

26,976

10,499

13,770

–

–

–

–

7,800

3,387

4,200

6,933

–

–

–

–

3,308

12,189

2,097

41,633

1,857

–

–

–

310,103

257,497

156,796

169,328

51,857

40,000

40,000

40,000

Salary and 
fees

Annual
bonus

Pension

Benefits

2014 
Total

260,000

199,352

132,500

107,661

25,000

45,000

40,000

30,000

30,000

–

–

–

8,310

–

–

–

–

–

7,800

3,987

3,975

5,923

–

–

–

–

–

3,341

9,903

1,808

38,289

2,110

3,086

–

–

–

271,141

213,242

138,283

160,183

27,110

48,086

40,000

30,000

30,000

In the year under review, there were no increases to the base salaries for the Executive Directors. For all other staff (excluding Chinese 
manufacturing staff) the average increase was approximately 2%.

2015 bonuses for Duncan Penny and Jonathan Rhodes were calculated based on the extent to which profit before tax exceeded that 
achieved in 2014. The 2015 bonus for Mike Laver was based on the extent gross margin exceeded that achieved in 2014. Andy Sng was 
paid a commission based on a proportion of the gross margin generated by the Asian business.

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Directors’ interests in ordinary shares of XP Power Limited
In response to feedback from shareholders the remuneration policy has been amended to introduce the requirement for a minimum 
shareholding for Executive Directors equivalent to two years’ salary. The Directors are to be given a period of five years to build the position 
following the policy’s approval.

60

Executive 

Mike Laver (a)

Duncan Penny

Andy Sng (b)

Non-executive 

James Peters

At 31 
December 
2015

119,969

326,990

21,000

At 1  
January 
2015

123,969

326,990

6,000

 2,049,279

 2,049,279

(a)  Mike Laver participated in the deferred payment share scheme. He sold 4,000 of these shares at a price of £16.00 on 16 June 2015. As at 31 December 2015, the outstanding 

balance of the deferred payment share scheme is £137,056. 

(b)  Andy Sng acquired 15,000 shares on 27 April 2015 after exercising options. 

In addition to the Directors’ interests in the ordinary shares of the Company, the following Directors have interests in share options:

Executive

Mike Laver

Duncan Penny

Jonathan Rhodes

Andy Sng

As at  
31 December 
2015
Number of 
shares

As at  
1 January 
2015
Number of 
shares

Date of grant Exercise price

10 October 2012

10 October 2012

10 October 2012

26 April 2007

10 October 2012

21 April 2005

£9.46

£9.46

£9.46

£5.07

£9.46

£4.11

75,000

75,000

20,000

30,000

20,000

–

75,000

75,000

20,000

30,000

20,000

15,000

Share options held by Andy Sng granted prior to 10 October 2012 are fully vested.

On 27 April 2015 Andy Sng exercised 15,000 options granted at a price of £4.11 on 21 April 2005.

The above options that were granted on 10 October 2012 will vest on the fourth anniversary from the date of grant. The vesting of these 
options is subject to XP’s Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) relative to the FTSE 350 Electronic and Electrical Equipment Sector as set out in 
the following table:

TSR relative to the FTSE 350 Electronic and Electrical Equipment Sector

Top 20th percentile

Median

Below median

Percentage of 
award that vests

100%

25%

Zero

There is no re-measurement of performance criteria.

Provision for malus and claw back is being introduced on all unvested awards with effect from the shareholder approval of the 2015 
remuneration policy.

The highest and lowest closing mid-market prices of the shares of XP Power Limited during 2015 were £17.50 and £13.75 per share 
respectively. The closing mid-market price on 31 December 2015 was £14.52 per share.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Statement of voting at the Annual General Meeting
The Group is committed to ongoing shareholder dialogue and takes an active interest in voting outcomes. Where there are substantial votes 
against resolutions in relation to Directors’ remuneration, the reasons for any such vote will be sought, and any actions in response will be 
detailed here.

The following table sets out actual voting in respect of the approval of the 2014 remuneration policy and remuneration report:

Number 
of votes 
cast for

Percentage of 
votes 
cast for

Number 
of votes  
cast against

Percentage of 
votes 
cast against

Total 
votes cast

Approval of remuneration policy

Approval of remuneration report

9,213,468

12,070,971

73.5%

96.6%

3,324,911

26.5%

12,538,379

431,214

3.5%

12,502,185

Number 
of votes 
withheld

1,200

37,394

61

Statement of consideration of employment conditions elsewhere in the Company
The Remuneration Committee takes account of the pay and employment conditions of employees elsewhere in the Company when setting 
the remuneration of Executive Directors. However, it does not consult other employees when setting Executive Directors’ remuneration.

The Remuneration Committee has not employed any remuneration consultants.

Statement of shareholder views
The Company has received views from shareholders that James Peters was not considered independent by virtue of him previously holding 
an executive position within the Company. James Peters is a major shareholder and the Board considers that his interests would therefore 
be strongly aligned with all shareholders. Nonetheless, on 24 July 2015 James Peters resigned from the Remuneration Committee and Terry 
Twigger was appointed. Polly Williams was appointed Chair of the Remuneration Committee with effect from 1 January 2016, taking over 
from Peter Bucher who remains on the Committee.

Approval
This report was approved by the Board of Directors on 22 February 2016 and signed on its behalf by:

Polly Williams 
Remuneration Committee Chair

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Directors
The Directors of the Company in office at the date of this report are as follows:

Peter Bucher

Duncan Penny

Jonathan Rhodes

Mike Laver

James Peters

Andy Sng

Terry Twigger (appointed 1 January 2015)

Polly Williams (appointed 1 January 2016)

Polly Williams offers herself for election and all other Directors retire and being eligible offer themselves for re-election.

62

Directors’ interests in shares or share options
The present membership of the Board and the interests of the Directors in the shares of XP Power Limited are set out in the Directors’ 
Remuneration Report.

Dividends
Interim dividends were paid and are proposed as follows:

Period

First Quarter

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter (proposed)

Total

Payment date

9 July 2015

8 October 2015

14 January 2016

4 April 2016

Amount

2014 comparative

13.0 pence

14.0 pence

15.0 pence

24.0 pence

12.0 pence

13.0 pence

14.0 pence

22.0 pence

66.0 pence

61.0 pence

We are proposing a final dividend of 24.0 pence per share which would be payable to members on the register on 11 March 2016 and will 
be paid on 4 April 2016. This would make the total dividend for the year 66.0 pence (2014: 61.0 pence) which is an increase of 8%.

Audit Committee
The members of the Audit Committee at the end of the financial year were as follows:

Terry Twigger (Chair), Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 1 January 2015)

Peter Bucher, Independent Non-Executive Director (appointed 24 July 2015)

John Dyson, Non-Executive Director

All members of the Audit Committee were Non-Executive Directors. 

The Audit Committee carried out its functions in accordance with Section 201B(5) of the Singapore Companies Act. In performing those 
functions, the Committee reviewed:

 } The audit plan of the Company’s independent auditor and its report on internal accounting controls arising from the statutory audit;

 } The assistance given by the Company’s management to the independent auditor; and

 } The balance sheet of the Company and the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the financial year ended 31 December 

2015 before their submission to the Board of Directors, as well as the independent auditor’s report on the balance sheet of the Company 
and the consolidated financial statements of the Group.

The Audit Committee has recommended to the Board that the independent auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, be nominated for 
reappointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of the Company.

Independent auditor
The independent auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, has expressed its willingness to accept reappointment.

On behalf of the Directors

James Peters 
Non-Executive Chairman 
22 February 2016

Duncan Penny 
Chief Executive

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5STATEMENT BY DIRECTORS

Sign posting for page
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Or caption
Or caption

GOVERNANCE REPORT

In the opinion of the Directors,

(a)  the balance sheet of the Company and the consolidated financial statements of the Group as set out on pages 70 to 113 are drawn up 
so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Company and of the Group as at 31 December 2015 and of the results of 
the business, changes in equity and cash flows of the Group for the financial year then ended; and

(b)  at the date of this statement, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts as and when they 

fall due.

On behalf of the Directors

James Peters 
Non-Executive Chairman 
22 February 2016

Duncan Penny 
Chief Executive

63

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5www.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT
to the members of XP Power Limited

to the members of XP Power Limited

Report on the Financial Statements
Our Opinion
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements of XP Power Limited (the “Company”) and its subsidiary corporations (“the Group”) and 
the balance sheet of the Company are properly drawn up in accordance with the provisions of the Singapore Companies Act (the “Act”) and 
International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union, so as to give a true and fair view of the financial 
position and performance of the Group and of the Company as at 31 December 2015, and of the results, changes in equity and cash flows 
of the Group for the financial year ended on that date. 

What we have audited
We have audited the accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Group set out on pages 70 to 113, which comprise the 
consolidated balance sheet of the Group and balance sheet of the Company as at 31 December 2015, the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows of the Group for the financial year then ended, and a 
summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory information. 

64

The basis for our opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (“ISAs”). Our responsibilities under those standards 
are further described in the What are we responsible for section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the 
Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Public Accountants and Accounting Entities 
(“ACRA Code”) together with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the consolidated financial statements in Singapore, 
and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements and the ACRA Code. We believe that the audit 
evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. 

Our audit approach – overview 

Materiality

Audit scope

Key audit 
matters

Materiality
The overall materiality which we have used to plan our work amounted to £1.3 million, 
which represented 5% of profit before taxation.

Audit Scope
We performed an audit of the complete financial information of 23 reporting units 
which included significant operations based in North America, Europe and Asia. This 
accounted for approximately 99% of group revenues. 

We performed analytical procedures over 7 reporting units that are not considered 
significant components of the Group.

Key Audit Matters
We identified the following key audit matters: 

 } Goodwill; 

 } Capitalised product development;

 } Deferred tax on unremitted earnings; and

 } Business combination. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 565

How we determined materiality
The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. We set certain quantitative thresholds for materiality. These, together 
with qualitative considerations, helped us to determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures and 
to evaluate the effect of misstatements, both individually and on the financial statements as a whole. 

Based on our professional judgement, we determined that the benchmark of profit before taxation is appropriate as it reflects the Group’s 
growth and investment plans. We believe this is a key measure used by shareholders in assessing the performance of the Group.

We agreed with the Audit Committee that we would report to them misstatements identified during our audit above £120,000 as well as 
misstatements below that amount that, in our view, warranted reporting for qualitative reasons. 

How we tailored the audit scope
The Group operates across North America, Europe and Asia. In establishing the overall approach to the Group audit, we determined the 
type of work that needed to be performed at the local operations by us, as the Group engagement team, or component auditors from 
other PwC network firms operating under our instruction. Where the work was performed by component auditors, we determined the 
level of involvement we needed to have in the audit work at those local operations to be able to conclude whether sufficient appropriate 
audit evidence had been obtained as a basis for our opinion on the Group financial statements as a whole. In the current year, the Group 
engagement team visited the Group’s office in North America as well as the manufacturing plant in Vietnam.

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

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

Having obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence of the local operations, we performed audit procedures at the Group level over the 
consolidation process, goodwill, capitalised product development, taxation and the business combination. 

What are the key audit matters
The matters that had the greatest effect on our audit, including the allocation of our resources and effort, are identified as “Key Audit 
Matters” in the table below. We have also set out how we tailored our audit to address these specific areas in order to provide an opinion on 
the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters. 

Key audit matters

How did our audit address these

Goodwill
Refer to page 49 (Report from the Chair of the Audit Committee), 
page 81 (Critical accounting judgements and key sources of 
estimation uncertainty – Impairment of Goodwill) and page 87 
(Note 11 – Goodwill).

The Group has goodwill of £36.3 million at 31 December 2015 
contained within 3 cash-generating units (“CGUs”) defined by its 
geographical split – North America, Europe and Asia. 

We focused on this area due to the size of the carrying amount of 
the goodwill, which represented 31% of total assets, and because 
management’s assessment of the ‘value-in-use’ of the Group’s 
CGUs involves significant judgements about the future results of 
the business and the discount rates applied to future cash flow 
forecasts. 

Key judgements about the future results of the business include: 
revenue and profit growth rates, expected changes to overhead 
costs as well as risks specific to the 3 geographical areas.

We assessed the appropriateness of management’s identification 
of the Group’s CGUs and the process in which indicators of 
impairment were identified. There were no significant issues noted. 

We evaluated the suitability and appropriateness of the impairment 
model as prepared by management and noted no significant 
exceptions. 

We also focused on understanding and challenging management’s 
plans for future growth for each of the 3 CGUs. Forecasted growth 
in revenue and profits are driven by constant innovation in the 
development of new product families as well as the broadening of 
the customer base in the 3 geographical areas. We benchmarked 
key market-related assumptions in management’s forecasts 
such as revenue and profit growth rates and changes in the 
overhead costs with relevant economic and industry indicators 
and considered that such targets as set by management were 
achievable. We agreed with management that no indicators of 
impairment were noted. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSINDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

to the members of XP Power Limited

66

Key audit matters

How did our audit address these

Capitalised product development
Refer to page 49 (Report from the Chair of the Audit Committee), 
page 81 (Critical accounting judgements and key sources of 
estimation uncertainty – Recoverability of Capitalised R&D) and 
page 88 (Note 12 – Intangible assets).

Part of the Group’s strategy is to invest in research and 
development to create new products. As at 31 December 2015, 
the carrying value of product development costs capitalised as 
an intangible asset is £11.0 million of which £2.9 million was 
capitalised in the current financial year. 

We focused on the appropriateness of capitalisation of product 
development costs due to the size of the carrying amount of 
this intangible asset, which represented 9% of total assets, and 
because significant judgement is involved in determining whether 
the criteria to capitalise such product development costs, as set 
out in IAS 38, have been fulfilled. 

We also identified the useful lives of the capitalised product 
development costs as an area involving significant judgement. 
The carrying value of the capitalised product development 
costs each year is heavily dependent on the useful lives of the 
developed products. Management determined the useful lives of 
the developed products based on the expected life cycle of these 
products, taking into consideration expected customer demand 
and technological innovation. 

Deferred tax on unremitted earnings
Refer to page 49 (Report from the Chair of the Audit Committee) 
and page 85  (Note 8 – Income taxes).

The Group has exposure to income taxes in a number of different 
jurisdictions. The Group’s tax position includes judgement about 
past and future events and relies on estimates and assumptions. 
As at 31 December 2015, the Group has deferred tax assets of 
£0.4 million and deferred tax liabilities of £3.9 million. 

We focused on the potential tax exposure of £9.7 million on the 
unremitted earnings held in the Group’s overseas subsidiaries as 
the amount is significant.

We assessed the appropriateness of capitalisation of product 
development costs by ensuring compliance with the criteria to 
capitalise product development costs as set out in IAS 38, and 
challenged management through discussions and qualitative 
reviews of the projects’ feasibility. We also tested the accuracy 
and allocation of capitalised material costs and labour costs. 
Management was able to support the capitalisation of product 
development costs.

In the assessment of the useful lives of the capitalised product 
development costs, we performed a benchmarking exercise to 
compare the useful lives of the capitalised product development 
costs against other companies within the same industry. For 
selected samples of developed products, we reviewed the actual 
sales during the year to ensure that the capitalised development 
costs are supported by demand. For products in development, we 
noted the existence of customer demand, for selected samples, 
by perusing sales quotations and/or correspondences between 
the customers and the Group. The useful lives as determined by 
management are in line with that of the industry and consistent 
with our understanding of the life cycle of the products. 

Through inquiry, we ascertained that management has no intention 
to repatriate such earnings to Singapore. We also assessed that 
there is no requirement for management to repatriate the earnings 
held with the Group’s overseas subsidiaries to the Company as 
the Company is able to meet its short-term liabilities and does not 
have significant external debt obligations. 

Management has appropriately determined that a deferred tax 
liability does not have to be recorded in accordance with the 
provisions of IAS 12. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5HeadingKey audit matters

How did our audit address these

Business combination 
Refer to page 49 (Report from the Chair of the Audit Committee), 
page 88 (Note 12 – Intangible assets) and page 103 
(Note 31 – Business combination).

On 25 November 2015, the Group announced the acquisition 
of the assets and business of EMCO High Voltage Corporation 
(“EMCO”), a specialist in high voltage DC-DC modules. The 
final purchase consideration was US$11.7 million (£7.7 million). 
Management assessed that the acquisition of EMCO qualifies as a 
business combination by applying the definition in IFRS 3. 

Management determined that the fair value of the net identifiable 
assets acquired is US$3.7 million (£2.4 million) with US$1.4 
million (£0.9 million) relating to intangible assets that arose from 
the business combination. The valuation of the intangible assets 
was performed as part of the Purchase Price Allocation and the 
values of the intangible assets have been provisionally determined 
in accordance with IFRS 3 pending the final completion of the 
valuation exercise. 

We focused on the intangible assets arising from the business 
combination as a significant area of judgment. The valuation 
methodology, as well as the inputs and assumptions in the model, 
will affect the fair value of the intangible assets. 

The goodwill arising from the acquisition of EMCO is also highly 
dependent on the fair value of the identifiable assets acquired and 
the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date. 

We reviewed management’s assessment that the acquisition of 
EMCO should be accounted for as a business combination and 
determined that it was appropriately performed in accordance with 
the definition set out in IFRS 3. 

We assessed the appropriateness of the identifiable assets 
acquired and the liabilities assumed at the acquisition date by 
reviewing the clauses laid out in the Asset Purchase Agreement. 
We also reviewed management’s procedure for determining the 
fair value of the net identifiable assets acquired and noted no 
significant exceptions. 

67

We tested the calculation of the goodwill arising from the 
acquisition of EMCO, being the difference between the total 
purchase consideration and the fair value of the net identifiable 
assets and noted that management’s computation was in line with 
IFRS 3. The final goodwill arising from the acquisition is dependent 
on the completion of the valuation of the intangible assets, the 
values of which have been provisionally determined as at the 
balance sheet date. 

Also, the goodwill arising from the acquisition has been determined 
by management to be part of the North American CGU (please 
see key audit matter “Goodwill” on page 65). We have assessed 
management’s determination of the CGU and noted no significant 
exceptions. 

We have not identified any significant issues with the provisional 
allocation of the intangible assets at the balance sheet date and 
no significant exceptions were noted in the accounting for the 
business combination. 

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to the members of XP Power Limited

68

Information other than the Financial Statements and Auditor’s Report thereon
Going concern
Under the UK Listing Rules (“Listing Rules”) we are required to review the Directors’ statement, set out on page 46, in relation to going 
concern. We have nothing to report having performed our review. 

The Directors’ assessment of the prospects of the Group 
Under the Listing Rules we are required to review the Directors’ statement that they have carried out a robust assessment of the principal 
risks facing the Group and the Directors’ statement in relation to the longer-term viability of the Group, set out on page 37. Our review 
was substantially less in scope than an audit and only consisted of making inquiries and considering the Directors’ process supporting 
their statements; checking that the statements are in alignment with the relevant provisions of the UK Corporate Governance Code; and 
considering whether the statements are consistent with the knowledge acquired by us in the course of performing our audit. We have 
nothing to report having performed our review. 

Corporate governance statement
Under the Listing Rules we are required to review the part of the Corporate Governance Statement relating to eleven further provisions of 
the UK Corporate Governance Code, set out in the “Accountability” section on pages 46 to 47. We have nothing to report having performed 
our review. 

Other information
Management is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the “Strategic Report” set out on pages 2 to 27, 
“Our Performance” section on pages 28 to 39, “Our Governance” section on pages 40 to 63 and the “Financials” section on page 114 of 
the Annual Report. Other information, as defined in this section, does not include matters that we are required to review and report on under 
the Listing Rules, as described above.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion 
thereon. 

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether 
the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears 
to be materially misstated. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other 
information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard. 

Responsibilities for the financial statements and the audit
What are Management and Directors responsible for
Management is responsible for the preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view in accordance with the provisions of the 
Act and IFRS as adopted by the European Union, and for devising and maintaining a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to 
provide a reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorised use or disposition; and transactions are properly 
authorised and that they are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of true and fair income statement accounts and balance 
sheets and to maintain accountability of assets.

In preparing the consolidated financial statements, management is responsible for assessing the Group’s ability to continue as a going 
concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless management 
either intends to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or has no realistic alternative but to do so. 

The Directors are responsible for overseeing the Group’s financial reporting process. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5HeadingWhat are we responsible for
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material 
misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level 
of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs will always detect a material misstatement when it 
exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be 
expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements. 

As part of an audit in accordance with ISAs, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit.

We also: 

 } Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and 
perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our 
opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may 
involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control. 

69

 } Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the 

circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Group’s internal control. 

 } Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made 

by management. 

 } Conclude on the appropriateness of management’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and based on the audit evidence 

obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Group’s ability to 
continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report 
to the related disclosures in the consolidated financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our 
conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may 
cause the Group to cease to continue as a going concern. 

 } Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the consolidated financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether 
the consolidated financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events in a manner that achieves fair presentation. 

 } Obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the financial information of the entities or business activities within the Group to 
express an opinion on the consolidated financial statements. We are responsible for the direction, supervision and performance of the 
Group audit. We remain solely responsible for our audit opinion. 

We communicate with the Audit Committee regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit 
findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit. 

We also provide the Audit Committee with a statement that we have complied with relevant ethical requirements regarding independence, 
and to communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where 
applicable, related safeguards. 

From the matters communicated with the Audit Committee, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the 
consolidated financial statements of the current year and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor’s 
report, unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter or when, in extremely rare circumstances, we determine that 
a matter should not be communicated in our report because the adverse consequences of doing so would reasonably be expected to 
outweigh the public interest benefits of such communication.

Report on other legal and regulatory requirements
In our opinion, the accounting and other records required by the Act to be kept by the Company and by those subsidiaries incorporated in 
Singapore of which we are the auditors, have been properly kept in accordance with the provisions of the Act. 

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

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
Public Accountants and Chartered Accountants 
Singapore 
22 February 2016

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF  
COMPREhENSIvE INCOME
As at 31 December 2015

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

£ Millions

Revenue

Cost of sales

Gross profit

Expenses

Distribution and marketing

Administrative

Research and development

70

Operating profit

Finance cost

Profit before income tax

Income tax expense

Profit for the year

Other comprehensive income:

Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit and loss:

Cash flow hedges

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

Other comprehensive income for the year, net of tax

Total comprehensive income for the year

Profit attributable to:

Equity holders of the Company 

Non-controlling interests

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Equity holders of the Company

Non-controlling interests

Note

4

7

6

8

24

24

24

 2015

109.7

(55.1)

54.6

(22.0)

(1.2)

(5.8)

25.6

(0.2)

25.4

(5.5)

19.9

(0.5)

1.0

0.5

20.4

19.7

0.2

19.9

20.2

0.2

20.4

2014

101.1

(51.0)

50.1

(20.6)

(0.7)

(4.3)

24.5

(0.2)

24.3

(4.8)

19.5

0.9 

1.7

2.6

22.1

19.4

0.1

19.5

22.0

0.1

22.1

Earnings per share attributable to equity holders of the Company (pence per share)

 – Basic

 – Diluted

10

10

103.7

102.8

102.1

101.1

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE ShEET

As at 31 December 2015

£ Millions

ASSETS

Current Assets

Cash and cash equivalents 

Inventories

Trade receivables

Other current assets

Derivative financial instruments 

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Goodwill

Intangible assets

Property, plant and equipment

Deferred income tax assets

ESOP loan to employees

Total non-current assets

Total assets

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities

Current income tax liabilities

Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Provision for deferred contingent consideration

Borrowings

Deferred income tax liabilities

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

NET ASSETS

EQUITY

Equity attributable to equity holders of the Company

Share capital

Merger reserve

Treasury shares

Hedging reserve

Translation reserve 

Retained earnings 

Non-controlling interests

TOTAL EQUITY

71

Note  

2015

2014

15

16

17

18

22

11

12

13

23

26

8

19

21

20

21

23

24

24

24

24

24

24

4.9

28.7

17.5

2.4

–

53.5

36.3

11.9

16.1

0.4

0.7

65.4

118.9

1.2

14.6

4.0

19.8

1.5

4.6

3.9

10.0

29.8

89.1

27.2

0.2

(1.0)

0.1

(5.3)

67.1

88.3

0.8

89.1

3.8

25.2

16.0

1.7

0.3

47.0

30.6

9.9

14.4

0.3

0.9

56.1

103.1

1.7

14.4

2.5

18.6

1.7

–

2.5

4.2

22.8

80.3

27.2

0.2

(1.1)

0.6

(6.3)

59.6

80.2

0.1

80.3

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF ChANGES IN EqUITY

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

£ Millions

Note

Share 
capital

Treasury 
shares

Merger 
reserve

Hedging 
reserve

Translation 
reserve

Retained 
earnings

Total 

Non-
controlling 
interests

Total 
equity

Attributable to equity holders of the Company

Balance at 1 January 
2014

27.2

0.2

(0.3)

(8.0)

72

Sale of treasury shares

24

Purchase of treasury 
shares

Employee share option 
plan expenses

Dividends paid

Total comprehensive 
income for the year

Balance at 31 
December 2014

24

9

24

Sale of treasury shares

24

Purchase of treasury 
shares

Employee share option 
plan expenses

Dividends paid

Acquisition of 
subsidiary

Total comprehensive 
income for the year

Balance at 31 
December 2015

24

9

15

24

(1.0)

0.1

(0.3)

0.1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

27.2

(1.1)

0.2

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.3

(0.3)

0.1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.9

0.6

–

–

–

–

–

51.1

(0.1)

–

–

69.2

–

(0.3)

0.1

0.2

69.4

–

–

–

–

(0.3)

0.1

(10.8)

(10.8)

(0.2)

(11.0)

–

–

–

–

1.7

19.4

22.0

0.1

22.1

(6.3)

59.6

80.2

0.1

80.3

–

–

–

–

–

(0.2)

0.1

–

–

(0.3)

0.1

–

–

–

0.1

(0.3)

0.1

(12.0)

(12.0)

(0.2)

(12.2)

–

–

0.7

0.7

(0.5)

1.0

19.7

20.2

0.2

20.4

27.2

(1.0)

0.2

0.1

(5.3)

67.1

88.3

0.8

89.1

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASh FLOW

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

£ Millions

Note

2015

2014

Cash flows from operating activities

Profit for the year

Adjustments for:

 – Income tax expense

 – Amortisation and depreciation

 – Finance cost

 – ESOP expenses

 – (Gain)/Loss on fair valuation of derivative financial instruments

 – Unrealised currency translation loss

Change in working capital, net of effects from acquisitions:

 – Inventories

 – Trade and other receivables

 – Trade and other payables

 – Provision for liabilities and other charges

 – Income tax paid

Net cash generated from operating activities

Cash flows from investing activities

Acquisition of a subsidiary, net of cash acquired

Acquisition of a business, net of cash acquired

Purchases and construction of property, plant and equipment

Research and development expenditure capitalised

Proceeds from disposal of property, plant and equipment

ESOP loans repaid

Net cash used in investing activities

Cash flows from financing activities

Proceeds from borrowings/(repayment of borrowings)

Sale of treasury shares

Purchase of treasury shares by ESOP

Interest paid

Dividend paid to equity holders of the Company

Dividend paid to non–controlling interests

Net cash used in financing activities

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of financial year

Effects of currency translation on cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents at end of financial year

73

19.9

19.5

5.5

3.8

0.2

0.1

(0.2)

1.0

(2.8)

(1.5)

(0.2)

(0.1)

(4.7)

21.0

(0.6)

(7.7)

(2.5)

(2.9)

–

0.2

(13.5)

8.0

0.3

(0.3)

(0.1)

(12.0)

(0.2)

(4.3)

3.2

1.3

(0.2)

4.3

4.8

3.1

0.2

0.1

0.6

1.2

(4.8)

(0.9)

1.7

(0.1)

(3.6)

21.8

–

–

(2.9)

(2.9)

0.1

0.1

(5.6)

(7.3)

0.1

(0.3)

(0.1)

(10.8)

(0.2)

(18.6)

(2.4)

3.8

(0.1)

1.3

7

6

8

15

31

13

12

9

24

15

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the finacial year ended 31 December 2015

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

1 

2 

General Information
XP Power Limited (the “Company”) is listed on the London Stock Exchange and incorporated and domiciled in Singapore. The 
address of its registered office is 401 Commonwealth Drive, Lobby B, #02–02, Haw Par Technocentre, Singapore 149598.

The nature of XP Power Limited and its subsidiaries’ operations and its principal activities are set out in the Markets and Products 
sections of the Annual Report on pages 14 to 15.

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

74

2.1  Basis of preparation
The consolidated financial statements of XP Power Limited and its subsidiaries have been prepared in accordance with International 
Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union (IFRS as adopted by the EU). 

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost convention except as disclosed in the accounting 
policies below. 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make judgements, estimates and 
assumptions that affect the application of these accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and 
expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed 
to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which forms the basis of making the judgements about carrying amounts of 
assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. 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.

(a) Going concern
After making enquiries, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in 
operational existence for the foreseeable future. The Group therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its 
consolidated financial statements.

(b) Changes in accounting policy and disclosures
i.  New and amended standards adopted by the Group

There are no IFRS or International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (“IFRIC”) interpretations that are effective for 
the first time for the financial year beginning on 1 January 2015 that would be expected to have a material impact on the Group.

ii.  New standards and interpretations issued not yet adopted

There are no other IFRS or IFRIC interpretations that are not yet effective that would be expected to have a material impact on the 
Group.

2.2  Foreign currency translation
(a) Functional and presentation currency
Items included in the financial statements of each entity in the Group are measured using the currency of the primary economic 
environment in which the entity operates (“functional currency”). The consolidated financial statements are presented in Pounds 
Sterling, which is different from the Company’s functional currency. The Company’s functional currency is the United States Dollar.

The financial statements are presented in Pounds Sterling, as the majority of the Company’s shareholders are based in the UK and 
the Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. It is the currency that the Directors of the Group use when controlling and 
monitoring the performance and financial position of the Group.

(b) Transactions and balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency at the exchange rates prevailing at the dates of the 
transactions or valuation where items are re-measured. 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 income statement, except when deferred in other comprehensive income as qualifying cash flow hedges and 
qualifying net investment hedges. 

Non-monetary items measured at fair value in foreign currencies are translated using exchange rates at the date when the fair values 
are determined. Currency translation differences on these items are included in other comprehensive income.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
 
2  Summary of significant accounting policies continued
2.2  Foreign currency translation continued
(c) Translation of Group entities’ financial statements
The results and financial position of all the Group entities that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are 
translated into the presentation currency as follows:

i.  assets and liabilities of the Group’s foreign operations are translated at exchange rates prevailing on the balance sheet date; 

ii. 

income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates for the period unless exchange rates fluctuate 
significantly and the average rate is not considered a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing 
on the transaction dates in which case income and expenses are translated using the exchange rates at the dates of the 
transactions; 

iii.  exchange differences arising, if any, are recognised in other comprehensive income and accumulated in the currency translation 
reserve. These currency translation differences are reclassified to profit or loss on disposal or partial disposal of the entity giving 
rise to such reserve; and

75

iv.  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 at the date of the balance sheet. 

2.3  Revenue recognition
Revenue comprises the fair value of the consideration received or receivable for goods provided in the ordinary course of the 
Group’s business, net of discounts, Value Added Tax/Goods and Services Tax, returns and rebates, and after eliminating sales within 
the Group.

(a)  Sales of goods are recognised when a Group entity has shipped the goods to locations specified by its customers in accordance 

with the sales contract and the collectability of the related receivable is reasonably assured. 

(b)  Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method.

2.4  Group accounting 
(a) Subsidiaries
Subsidiaries are all entities (including special purpose entities) over which the Group has control. The Group controls an entity 
when the Group is exposed to, or has the rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect 
those returns through its power over the entity. The existence and effect of potential voting rights that are currently exercisable or 
convertible are considered when assessing whether the Group controls another entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the 
date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date that control ceases.

The Group uses the acquisition method of accounting to account for business combinations. The consideration transferred for the 
acquisition of a subsidiary comprises the fair value of the assets transferred, the liabilities incurred and the equity interests issued by 
the Group. The consideration transferred also includes the fair value of any asset or liability resulting from a contingent consideration 
arrangement and the fair value of any pre-existing equity interest in the subsidiary. Acquisition-related costs are expensed as 
incurred. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially 
at their fair values at the acquisition date. On an acquisition-by-acquisition basis, the Group recognises any non-controlling interest in 
the acquiree either at fair value or at the non-controlling interest’s proportionate share of the acquiree’s net assets. 

The excess of the consideration transferred, the amount of any non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the acquisition-date fair 
value of any previously-held equity interest in the acquiree over the fair value of the identifiable net assets acquired, is recorded as 
goodwill. If this is less than the fair value of the net assets of the subsidiary acquired in the case of a bargain purchase, the difference 
is recognised directly in the statement of comprehensive income.

Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between Group companies are eliminated. Unrealised 
losses are also eliminated. Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the 
policies adopted by the Group.

Investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost less impairment in the separate financial statements. This cost of investment is 
subsequently adjusted to reflect changes in contingent consideration, if any. In the separate financial statements, cost of investment 
in subsidiaries also includes directly-attributable acquisition costs.

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

76

2.  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

2.4  Group accounting continued
(b) Transactions with non-controlling interest
The Group treats transactions with non-controlling interests as transactions with equity owners of the Group. For purchases of 
shares from non-controlling interests, the difference between any consideration paid and the relevant share acquired of the carrying 
value of net assets of the subsidiary, is recorded in equity. Gains or losses on disposals to non-controlling interests are also recorded 
in equity.

When the Group ceases to have control or significant influence, any retained interest in the entity is re-measured to its fair value, with 
the change in carrying amount recognised in the income statement. The fair value is the initial carrying amount for the purposes of 
subsequently accounting for the retained interest as an associate, joint venture or financial asset. In addition, any amounts previously 
recognised in other comprehensive income in respect of that entity are accounted for as if the Group had directly disposed of the 
related assets or liabilities. This may mean that amounts previously recognised in other comprehensive income are reclassified to the 
income statement.

2.5  Property, plant and equipment 
Items of property, plant and equipment, including land and buildings, are stated at historical cost less accumulated depreciation and 
any recognised impairment losses.

The historical cost of an item of property, plant and equipment initially recognised includes its purchase price and any cost that is 
directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner 
intended by management.

Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits 
associated with the item will flow to the Group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably. The carrying amount of the 
replaced part is derecognised. All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the income statement during the financial period in 
which they are incurred.

Freehold land and property under development are not depreciated. Depreciation on other items of property, plant and equipment is 
calculated using the straight-line method to allocate their cost over their estimated useful lives as follows:

Plant and equipment 

–  10 – 33%

Motor vehicles 

–  20 – 25%

Building improvements 

–  10 – 33%

Buildings 

Leasehold land and buildings 

– 

– 

2 – 5%

2 – 5%

The residual values, estimated useful lives and depreciation method of property, plant and equipment are reviewed, and adjusted as 
appropriate, at each balance sheet date. The effects of any revision are recognised in the income statement when the changes arise.

An asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than its 
estimated recoverable amount.

Gains or losses arising on the disposal or retirement of an asset are determined as the difference between the sale proceeds less 
cost to sell and the carrying amount of the asset, and are recognised in the income statement.

Intangible assets

2.6 
(a) Goodwill
The excess of the consideration transferred, the amount of non-controlling interest in the acquiree and the acquisition-date fair value 
of any previous equity interest in the acquiree over the fair value of the Group’s share of identifiable net assets acquired, is recorded 
as goodwill. Goodwill on acquisitions of subsidiaries is included in “Intangible assets”.

Goodwill is tested annually for impairment and whenever there is an indication that the goodwill may be impaired. Goodwill is carried 
at cost less accumulated impairment losses. 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.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
2.  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

Intangible assets continued

2.6 
(b) Internally generated intangible assets – research and development expenditure
Expenditure on research activities is recognised as an expense as incurred.

An internally generated intangible asset arising from the Group’s product development is recognised only if all of the following criteria 
are met:

 } There is an ability to use or sell the asset;

 } Management intends to complete the asset and use or sell it;

 } It can be demonstrated the asset will generate probable future economic benefits;

 } It is technically feasible to complete the asset so that it will be available for use;

77

 } Adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the asset are available; and

 } The expenditure attributable to the asset during its development can be reliably measured.

Internally generated intangible assets are amortised on a straight-line basis over their useful lives, which vary between 4 and 7 years 
depending on the exact nature of the project undertaken. Amortisation commences when the product is ready and available for use. 

Impairment of non-financial assets

2.7 
Intangible assets
Investments in subsidiaries 
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 impairment are reviewed for possible reversal of the 
impairment at each reporting date.

2.8  Fair value estimation of financial assets and liabilities
The fair values of financial instruments traded in active markets (such as exchange-traded and over-the-counter securities and 
derivatives) are based on quoted market prices at the balance sheet date. The quoted market prices used for financial assets are the 
current bid prices; the appropriate quoted market prices used for financial liabilities are the current asking prices.

The fair values of currency forwards are determined using actively quoted forward exchange rates.

The fair values of current financial assets and liabilities carried at amortised cost approximate their carrying amounts.

2.9  Financial assets
(a) Classification 
The Group classifies its financial assets depending 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. The Group’s financial assets comprise loans and 
receivables.

Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active 
market. They are presented as current assets, except for those maturing later than 12 months after the balance sheet date, which 
are presented as non-current assets. Loans and receivables are presented as “trade receivables”, “other current assets”, “cash and 
cash equivalents” and “ESOP loans to employees” in the balance sheet.

(b) Recognition/derecognition
Regular purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on the trade-date – the date on which the Group commits to 
purchase or sell the asset. Financial assets are derecognised when the rights to receive cash flows from the financial assets have 
expired or have been transferred and the Group has transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership. On disposal of a 
financial asset, the difference between the carrying amount and the sale proceeds is recognised in the income statement. Loans and 
receivables are initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs and subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective 
interest method. 

(c) Impairment
The Group assesses at the end of each reporting period whether there is objective evidence that a financial asset or group of 
financial assets is impaired. A financial asset or a group of financial assets is impaired and impairment losses are incurred only if there 
is objective evidence of impairment as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the asset (a ‘loss 
event’) and that loss event (or events) has an impact on the estimated future cash flows of the financial asset or group of financial 
assets that can be reliably estimated.

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78

NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

2.  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

2.9  Financial assets continued
The amount of the loss is measured as the difference between the asset’s carrying amount and the present value of estimated future 
cash flows (excluding future credit losses that have not been incurred) discounted at the financial asset’s original effective interest 
rate. The carrying amount of the asset is reduced and the amount of the loss is recognised in the income statement.

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

(d) Offsetting financial instruments
Financial assets and liabilities are offset and the net amount reported in the balance sheet when there is a legally enforceable right to 
offset and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or realise the asset and the liability simultaneously.

2.10  Trade and other payables
Trade payables are obligations to pay for goods that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts 
payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business if 
longer). If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities.

Trade and other payables are initially recognised at fair value, and subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest 
method.

2.11  Provisions
Provisions are recognised when the Group has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of past events, and it is more 
likely than not 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 expenditure expected to be required to settle the obligation using a pre-tax 
discount rate that reflects the current market assessment of the time value of money and the risks specific to the obligation. The 
increase in the provision due to the passage of time is recognised as a finance expense. Changes in the estimated timing or amount 
of the expenditure or discount rate are recognised in the income statement when the changes arise.

2.12  Borrowings
Borrowings are recognised initially at fair value, net of transaction costs incurred. Borrowings are subsequently carried at amortised 
cost; any difference between the proceeds (net of transaction costs) and the redemption value is recognised in the income statement 
over the period of the borrowings using the effective interest method.

Fees paid on the establishment of loan facilities are recognised as transaction costs of the loan to the extent that it is probable that 
some or all of the facility will be drawn down. In this case, the fee is deferred until the draw-down occurs. To the extent there is no 
evidence that it is probable that some or all of the facility will be drawn down, the fee is capitalised as a prepayment for liquidity 
services and amortised over the period of the facility to which it relates.

Borrowings are presented as current liabilities unless the Group has an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least 12 months 
after the balance sheet date, in which case they are presented as non-current liabilities.

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

2.14  Derivative financial instruments and hedging activities
Derivatives are initially recognised at fair value on the date the contract is entered into and are subsequently re-measured at their fair 
value. The method of recognising the resulting gain or loss depends on whether the derivative is designated as a hedging instrument, 
and if so, the nature of the item being hedged.

The Group designates certain derivatives as hedges of a particular risk associated with a recognised asset or liability or a highly 
probable forecast transaction (cash flow hedge).

The Group documents at the inception of the transaction the relationship between the hedging instruments and hedged items, as 
well as its risk management objective and strategies for undertaking various hedge transactions. The Group also documents its 
assessment, both at hedge inception and on an ongoing basis, on whether the derivatives designated as hedging instruments are 
highly effective in offsetting changes in fair value or cash flows of the hedged items.

The Group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. The 
Group periodically uses foreign exchange forward contracts to hedge the foreign currency exposures. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
2.  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

2.14  Derivative financial instruments and hedging activities continued
Cash flow hedge

i. 

 Currency forwards

The Group has entered into currency forwards that qualify as cash flow hedges against highly probable forecasted transactions 
in foreign currencies. The effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and qualify as cash flow 
hedges is recognised in other comprehensive income. The gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is recognised immediately 
in the income statement. 

When a hedging instrument expires or is sold, or when a hedge no longer meets the criteria for hedge accounting, any cumulative 
gain or loss existing in equity at that time remains in equity is recognised when the forecasted transaction is ultimately recognised 
in the income statement. When a forecasted transaction is no longer expected to occur, the cumulative gains and losses that 
were previously recognised in equity are transferred to the income statement immediately.

79

Certain derivative instruments do not qualify for hedge accounting. Changes in the fair value of any of these derivative instruments 
are recognised immediately in the income statement.

Amounts accumulated in equity are reclassified to the income statement in the periods when the hedged item affects profit or 
loss.

The fair values of various derivative instruments used for hedging purposes are disclosed in Note 22. Movements on the hedging 
reserve in other comprehensive income are shown in Note 24. The full fair value of a hedging derivative is classified as a non-
current asset or liability when the remaining expected life/or maturity of the hedged item is more than 12 months, and as a current 
asset or liability when the remaining maturity of the hedged item is less than 12 months. 

Inventories

2.15 
Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. The cost of finished goods and work-in-progress comprises raw 
materials, direct labour, other direct costs and related production overheads (based on normal operating capacity) but excludes 
borrowing costs.

Cost is calculated using the weighted average method. Net realisable value represents the estimated selling price less all estimated 
costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.

2.16  Current and deferred income tax
The tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax.

The tax currently payable is based on the taxable profit for the year. Taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the income 
statement because it excludes items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items 
that are never taxable or deductible. The Group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or 
substantively enacted by the balance sheet date.

Deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in 
the financial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit, and is accounted for using the 
balance sheet liability method. 

Deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to the 
extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be utilised. Such 
assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from goodwill or from the initial recognition (other than in a 
business combination) of other assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit. 

Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and associates, and 
interests in joint ventures, except where the Group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that 
the temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future.

Deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised. 
Deferred tax is charged or credited in the income statement, except when it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity in 
which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity.

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax 
liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the Group intends to settle its current tax 
assets and liabilities on a net basis.

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

80

2.  Summary of significant accounting policies continued

2.17  Cash and cash equivalents
For the purpose of presentation in the consolidated cash flow statement, cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, deposits 
with financial institutions and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are presented as current liabilities on the balance sheet.

2.18  Share-based payments
The Group issues equity-settled share-based payments to certain employees. Equity-settled share-based payments are measured at 
fair value 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 Group’s estimate of shares that will eventually vest. The vesting conditions 
are service conditions and performance conditions only. Other features of a share-based payment are not vesting conditions. These 
features would need to be included in the grant date fair value for transactions with employees and others providing similar services; 
they would not impact the number of awards expected to vest or valuation thereof subsequent to grant date. At each balance sheet 
date, the Group revises its estimates of the number of shares under options that are expected to become exercisable on the vesting 
date and recognises the impact of the revision of the estimates in the income statement, with a corresponding adjustment to the 
share option reserve over the remaining vesting period. 

When the options are exercised, the proceeds received (net of transaction costs) and the related balance previously recognised in 
the share option reserve are credited to share capital account, when new ordinary shares are issued, or to the “treasury shares” 
account, when treasury shares are re-issued to employees.

2.19  Retirement benefit costs
The Group operates several defined contribution plans. Defined contribution plans are post-employment benefit plans under which 
the Group pays fixed contributions into separate entities on a mandatory, contracted or voluntary basis. The Group has no further 
payment obligations once the contributions have been paid.

2.20  Employee leave entitlements
Employee entitlements to annual leave are recognised in the income statement when they accrue to employees. A provision is made 
for the estimated liability for leave as a result of services rendered by employees up to the balance sheet date.

2.21  Share capital and treasury shares
Ordinary shares are classified as equity. Incremental costs directly attributable to the issue of new ordinary shares are shown in 
equity, net of tax, from the proceeds.

When any entity within the Group purchases the Company’s ordinary shares (“treasury shares”), the consideration paid, including any 
directly attributable incremental cost (net of income taxes), is deducted from equity attributable to the Company’s equity holders, until 
they are cancelled, sold or re-issued.

When treasury shares are subsequently cancelled, the cost of treasury shares are deducted against the share capital account if the 
shares are purchased out of capital of the Company, or against the retained earnings of the Company if the shares are purchased 
out of earnings of the Company.

When treasury shares are subsequently sold or re-issued pursuant to the employee share option scheme, the cost of treasury 
shares is reversed from the treasury share account and the realised gain or loss on sale or re-issue, net of any directly attributable 
incremental transaction costs and related income tax, is recognised in the retained earnings of the Company.

2.22  Dividend distribution
Dividend distributions to the Company’s shareholders are recognised when the dividends are approved for payment.

2.23  Investments in subsidiaries
Investments in subsidiaries are carried at cost less accumulated impairment losses in the Company’s balance sheet. On disposal of 
investments in subsidiaries, the difference between disposal proceeds and the carrying amounts of the investments are recognised in 
the income statement.

2.24  Segment reporting
Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the Chief Operating Decision Makers 
who are responsible for allocating resources and assessing performance of the operating segments. Segment reporting is disclosed 
in Note 4.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 53.  Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the process of applying the Group’s accounting policies, as described in Note 2, management has made the following judgements 
and estimations that have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.

(a) Recoverability of Capitalised R&D
During the year £2.9 million (2014: £2.9 million) of development costs were capitalised, bringing the total amount of development 
costs capitalised as intangible assets as at 31 December 2015 to £11.0 million (2014: £9.9 million), net of amortisation. Management 
has reviewed the balances by project, compared the carrying amount to expected future revenues and profits and is satisfied that no 
impairment exists and that the costs capitalised will be fully recovered as the products are launched to market. New product projects 
are monitored regularly and should the technical or market feasibility of a new product be in question, the project would be cancelled 
and capitalised costs to date removed from the balance sheet and charged to the income statement.

(b) Impairment of Goodwill
The Group tests annually for impairment of goodwill, or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might be impaired.

81

The recoverable amount of the goodwill is determined from value in use calculations. The key assumptions and estimates for the 
value in use calculations are those regarding the discount rates, growth rates and expected changes to sales and overheads during 
the period. Management estimates discount rates using pre-tax rates that reflect current market assessments of the time value of 
money and the risks specific to the cash generating units.

The Group prepares cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent financial results and takes into account industry growth 
forecasts for the next five years and extrapolates cash flows for the following five years assuming no growth from that date. The 
carrying amount of goodwill as at 31 December 2015 was £36.3 million (2014: £30.6 million) with no impairment adjustment required 
for 2015.

Management assessed that there are no realistic foreseeable changes that will result in impairment loss on the goodwill allocated to 
the North America, Europe and Asia operating segments. 

(c) Estimation of future deferred contingent consideration payments
As at the balance sheet date the Group has recorded estimated future payments related to the acquisition of the final 16.0% of 
Powersolve Electronics Limited in early 2017. When discounted to present value the total of these payments is estimated at £1.5 
million and that amount is reflected on the balance sheet. Since the final payment will be dependent on the actual future financial 
performance of the business, an estimate is required to approximate future business conditions. Refer to Note 20 for more details.

If Powersolve’s future earnings increase or decrease by 10% year on year from January 2016 to January 2017, the deferred 
consideration will be affected by £0.1 million. There will be no impact to net profit or total equity as changes in estimates of the 
deferred consideration are adjusted against goodwill.

4.  Segmental reporting

Management has determined the operating segments based on the reports reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Makers 
(CODM) that are used to make strategic decisions. The Chief Operating Decision Makers are the Executive Board of Directors who 
will review the operating results and forecasts to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segments and assess their 
performance.

The Executive Board of Directors considers and manages the business on a geographic basis. Management manages and monitors 
the business based on the three primary geographic areas: North America, Europe and Asia. All geographic locations market the 
same class of products to their respective customer base.

The Executive Board of Directors assesses the performance of the operating segments based on net sales and operating income. 
Net sales for geographic segments are based on the location of the design win rather than where the end sale is made. The 
operating income for each segment includes net sales to third parties, related cost of sales, operating expenses directly attributable 
to the segment, and a portion of corporate expenses. Costs excluded from segment operating income include stock-based 
compensation expense, income taxes, various non-operating charges, and other separately managed general and administrative 
costs. 

Segment assets consist primarily of property, plant and equipment, goodwill, intangible assets, inventories, receivables, cash and 
cash equivalents and exclude tax assets.

Segment liabilities comprise trade and other current liabilities, derivative financial instruments, borrowings, deferred contingent 
consideration and exclude tax liabilities.

Capital expenditure comprises additions to property, plant and equipment.

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

4.  Segmental reporting continued

The segment information provided to the CODM for the reportable segments for the year ended 31 December 2015 and prior year 
comparatives is as follows:

£ Millions

Revenue

Europe

North America

Asia

Total revenue

82

Reconciliation of segment results to profit for the year:

£ Millions

Europe 

North America

Asia

Segment results

Research and development 

Finance cost

Corporate recovery from operating segment

Profit before income tax

Income tax expense

Profit for the year

The Group operates in the following regions and countries:

£ Millions

North America

United Kingdom

Singapore

Germany

Switzerland

Other countries

Total revenue

The majority of North America’s revenue is generated from the United States of America.

2015

2014

45.1

55.7

8.9

109.7

2015

6.7

14.6

1.4

22.7

(5.8)

(0.2)

8.7

25.4

(5.5)

19.9

2015

55.7

23.8

7.9

9.7

3.6

9.0

42.2

51.3

7.6

101.1

2014

7.6

13.6

1.7

22.9

(4.3)

(0.2)

5.9

24.3

(4.8)

19.5

2014

51.3

22.4

7.5

8.9

3.4

7.6

109.7

101.1

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
4.  Segmental reporting continued

£ Millions

Other Information

Capital additions

Depreciation

Intangible assets additions

Amortisation

Balance sheet

Goodwill

Other non-current assets

Inventories

Trade receivables

Other current assets

Cash

Segment assets

Year to 31 December 2015

Year to 31 December 2014

Europe

North
America

Asia

Total

Europe

North
America

Asia

Total

0.5

0.4

–

0.2

10.4

2.7

1.4

6.2

0.5

2.1

0.7

0.3

1.4

0.8

24.6

13.7

10.8

8.4

0.5

0.6

1.3

1.3

1.5

0.8

1.3

12.3

16.5

2.9

1.4

2.2

2.5

2.0

2.9

1.8

36.3

28.7

28.7

17.5

2.4

4.9

0.5

0.3

0.4

0.2

10.5

2.6

1.4

5.9

0.6

2.2

0.5

0.2

1.4

0.8

19.5

10.8

7.9

8.0

0.4

0.2

1.9

1.1

1.1

0.5

0.6

11.8

15.9

2.1

1.0

1.4

2.9

1.6

2.9

1.5

30.6

25.2

25.2

16.0

2.0

3.8

23.3

58.6

36.6

118.5

23.2

46.8

32.8

102.8

83

Unallocated deferred income tax

–

–

–

0.4

118.9

–

–

–

0.3

103.1

Consolidated total assets

Trade and other payables

Borrowings

Deferred contingent consideration

Segment liabilities

Unallocated corporate liabilities

Unallocated deferred and current 
income tax

Consolidated total liabilities

(1.8)

–

(1.5)

(3.3)

–

–

(2.3)

(8.0)

–

(10.5)

(14.6)

–

–

(8.0)

(1.5)

(10.3)

(10.5)

(24.1)

–

–

–

–

(0.6)

(5.1)

(29.8)

(2.0)

–

(1.6)

(3.6)

–

–

(1.8)

(10.6)

(14.4)

–

–

–

–

–

(1.6)

(1.8)

(10.6)

(16.0)

–

–

–

–

(2.6)

(4.2)

(22.8)

Analysis by class of customer
The revenue by class of customer is as follows:

£ Millions

Technology

Industrial

Healthcare

Total

Year to 31 December 2015

Year to 31 December 2014

Europe

North
America

6.7

27.1

11.3

45.1

16.8

17.6

21.3

55.7

Asia

Total

Europe

3.3

3.9

1.7

8.9

26.8

48.6

34.3

109.7

6.5

25.5

10.2

42.2

North
America

11.9

19.9

19.5

51.3

Asia

2.6

3.7

1.3

7.6

Total

21.0

49.1

31.0

101.1

There is no individual external customer that represents 7% or more of the Group’s total revenue.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

4.  Segmental reporting continued

Non–current assets, other than deferred income tax assets, by countries:

£ Millions

North America

United Kingdom

Singapore

Germany

Switzerland

84

Other countries

Total non-current assets

5.  Employee compensation (including Directors)

£ Millions

Wages and salaries

Pensions

Total

For further information regarding Directors’ remuneration, refer to the Directors’ Remuneration Report.

6.  Finance cost

£ Millions

Interest expense on bank loans and overdrafts

Unwinding of discount on deferred consideration (Note 20)

Total

7.  Expenses by nature 

£ Millions

Profit for the year is after charging:

Amortisation of intangibles  

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment 

Employee compensation

Foreign exchange loss

Gain on foreign exchange forward

Purchases of inventories

Changes in inventories

Fees payable to the Group’s auditor for the audit of the Group’s accounts

Fees payable to other audit firms for audit related services

Tax fees payable to other firms for services provided to the Group

Rent/lease expense

Finance cost

Other charges

Total

Fees payable to the Group’s auditor for non-audit services was 5% of their total fees. 

2015

38.7

3.7

3.7

0.3

3.5

15.1

65.0

2015

23.8

4.1

27.9

2015

0.1

0.1

0.2

2014

30.3

3.8

2.9

0.3

3.6

14.9

55.8

2014

21.1

3.5

24.6

2014

0.1

0.1

0.2

2015

2014

1.8

2.0

27.9

–

(0.2)

50.2

(3.5)

0.3

0.1

0.1

1.3

0.2

4.1

1.5

1.6

24.6

0.4

(0.5)

49.1

(4.8)

0.3

0.1

0.1

1.2

0.2

3.0

84.3

76.8

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
7.  Expenses by nature continued

Included in the above is net research and development expenditure as follows:

£ Millions

Gross research and development expenditure

Research and development expenditure capitalised

Amortisation of development expenditure capitalised

Net research and development expenditure

8. 

Income taxes

£ Millions

Singapore corporation tax 
– current year 

Overseas corporation tax 
– current year

– over-provision in prior financial years

Current income tax

Deferred income tax

– current year

– under-provision in prior financial years

Income tax expense

2015

6.9

 (2.9)

1.8

5.8

2014

5.7

(2.9)

1.5

4.3

2015

2014

85

1.6

2.8

(0.2)

4.2

0.8

0.5

5.5

1.2

3.3

(0.3)

4.2

0.6

–

4.8

Taxation for other jurisdictions is calculated at the rates prevailing in the respective jurisdictions.

The differences between the total income tax expense shown above and the amount calculated by applying the standard rate of 
Singapore income tax rate to the profit before income tax are as follows:

£ Millions

Profit before income tax

Tax on profit at standard Singapore tax rate of 17%  

Tax incentives

Higher rates of overseas corporation tax

Deduction for (gain)/loss on employee share options

Adjustment in respect of prior year

Income tax expense

2015

25.4

4.3

(0.7)

1.7

(0.1)

0.3

5.5

2014

24.3

4.1

(0.8)

1.7

0.1

(0.3)

4.8

Deferred tax liabilities of £9.7 million (2014: £8.3 million) have not been recognised on the unremitted earnings of overseas 
subsidiaries. As these earnings are continually reinvested by the Group, no tax is expected to be payable on them in the foreseeable 
future.

Movement in current income tax liabilities:

£ Millions

At 1 January 

Currency translation differences

Income tax paid

Income tax payable – current year

– prior year

At 31 December 

2015

(1.7)

–

4.7

(4.4)

0.2

(1.2)

2014

(1.1)

(0.1)

3.6

(4.4)

0.3

(1.7)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

8. 

Income taxes continued

The tax (charge)/credit relating to components of other comprehensive income are as follows:

£ Millions

Cash flow hedges

Currency translation differences

Other comprehensive income

86

Current tax

Deferred tax

£ Millions

Cash flow hedges

Currency translation differences

Other comprehensive income

Current tax

Deferred tax

2015

Before tax

Tax (charge)

After tax

(0.5)

1.0

0.5

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

(0.5)

1.0

0.5

–

–

–

2014

Before tax

Tax (charge)

After tax

0.9

1.7

2.6

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.9

1.7

2.6

–

–

–

9.  Dividends

Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the period: 

Prior year third quarter dividend paid

Prior year final dividend paid

First quarter dividend paid

Second quarter dividend paid

Total

* Dividends in respect of 2014 (61.0p) 

^ Dividends in respect of 2015 (66.0p)

2015

2014

Pence per 
share

£ Millions

Pence per 
share

£ Millions

14.0*

22.0*

13.0^

14.0^

63.0

2.7

4.2

2.4

2.7

12.0

13.0

19.0

12.0*

13.0*

57.0

2.5

3.6

2.2

2.5

10.8

The third quarter dividend of 15.0 pence per share was paid on 14 January 2016. The proposed final dividend of 24.0 pence per 
share for the year ended 31 December 2015 is subject to approval by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting scheduled for 
1 April 2016 and has not been included as a liability in these financial statements. It is proposed that the final dividend be paid on 
4 April 2016 to members on the register as at 11 March 2016.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
10.  Earnings per share

The calculations of the basic and diluted earnings per share attributable to the ordinary equity holders of the Company are based on 
the following data:

£ Millions

Earnings

Earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings per share
(profit for the year attributable to equity holders of the Company)

Earnings for earnings per share

Number of shares

Weighted average number of shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share (thousands) 

Effect of potentially dilutive share options (thousands)

Weighted average number of shares for the purposes of dilutive earnings per share (thousands)

Earnings per share from operations

Basic

Diluted

Diluted adjusted*

* Refer to key performance indicators for additional disclosure on page 33

11.  Goodwill

£ Millions

Cost 

At 1 January 

Provision for deferred contingent consideration (Note 20)

Recognised on acquisition of subsidiaries

Foreign currency translation

At 31 December 

Accumulated impairment loss

At 31 December

Carrying amount

At 31 December

87

2015

2014

19.7

19.7

18,997

175

19,172

103.7p

102.8p

104.3p

19.4

19.4

18,998

196

19,194

102.1p

101.1p

101.1p

2015

2014

30.6

(0.2)

6.0

(0.1)

36.3

–

30.6

(0.1)

–

0.1

30.6

–

 36.3

30.6

Goodwill arises on the consolidation of subsidiary undertakings. 

A change in deferred contingent consideration of £0.3 million in 2015 was due to a decrease in the forecasted earnings related to the 
Powersolve acquisition. The final amount due in 2017 is related to the prior three years’ earnings the estimates for which, based on 
the 2015 performance, were revised downwards. 

For the purpose of impairment testing, goodwill has been allocated to the operating segments identified in Note 4.

The recoverable amount of the goodwill is determined from value in use calculations. The key assumptions and estimates for the 
value in use calculations are those regarding the discount rates, growth rates and expected changes to sales and overheads during 
the period. Management estimates discount rates using pre-tax rates that reflect current market assessments of the time value of 
money and the risks specific to the cash generating units (a rate of 8.0% was used for 2015 and for 2014, the rate was 7.1%).

The Group prepares cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent financial results and takes into account industry growth 
forecasts for five years and estimates cash flows based on these forecasts assuming no growth after five years. Management has 
forecast year on year increases in sales and overheads averages of 5.0% and 3.0% respectively. The carrying amount of goodwill as at 
31 December 2015 was £36.3 million (2014: £30.6 million) with no impairment adjustment required for 2015.

For the purpose of the impairment test, the Group has adopted what it believes to be reasonable Earnings Before Interest, Tax, 
Amortisation assumptions for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2020. Management believes that any reasonable 
possible change in the key assumptions on which the recoverable amount is based would not cause the carrying amount of goodwill 
to exceed its recoverable amount.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALS 
NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

12.  Intangible assets

£ Millions

Cost

At 1 January 2014

Additions

At 1 January 2015

Additions

88

Acquisition of business

At 31 December 2015

Amortisation

At 1 January 2014

Charge for the year

At 1 January 2015

Charge for the year

At 31 December 2015

Carrying amount

At 31 December 2015

At 31 December 2014

Development 
costs

Trade marks

Brand and 
Technology

Customer 
relationships

Customer 
contracts

13.5

2.9

16.4

2.9

–

19.3

5.0

1.5

6.5

1.8

8.3

11.0

9.9

1.0

–

1.0

–

–

1.0

1.0

–

1.0

–

1.0

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.6

0.6

–

–

–

–

–

0.6

–

–

–

–

–

0.2

0.2

–

–

–

–

–

0.2

–

–

–

–

–

0.1

0.1

–

–

–

–

–

0.1

–

Total

14.5

2.9

17.4

2.9

0.9

21.2

6.0

1.5

7.5

1.8

9.3

11.9

9.9

The amortisation period for development costs incurred on the Group’s products varies between four and seven years according to 
the expected useful life of the products being developed.

Amortisation commences when the product is ready and available for use. 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 513.  Property, plant and equipment

Freehold 
land

Leasehold 
land and 
buildings Buildings

Plant and 
equipment

Motor 
vehicles

Building 
improvements

Projects 
under 
development

Total

£ Millions

Cost

At 1 January 2014

0.2

8.2

1.4

Additions

Disposals

Transfer

Foreign currency 
translation

At 1 January 2015

Acquisition of subsidiary

Acquisition of business

Additions

Disposals

Transfer

Foreign currency 
translation

–

–

–

–

0.2

0.1

0.2

–

–

–

–

At 31 December 2015

0.5

Depreciation

At 1 January 2014

Charge for the year

Disposals

Foreign currency 
translation

At 1 January 2015

Charge for the year

Foreign currency 
translation

At 31 December 2015

Carrying amount
At 31 December 2015

At 31 December 2014

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.5

0.2

–

–

–

0.4

8.6

–

–

–

–

–

0.2

8.8

0.6

0.3

–

–

0.9

0.3

–

1.2

7.6

7.7

–

–

–

0.1

1.5

0.2

0.1

–

–

–

–

1.8

0.2

–

–

–

0.2

–

–

0.2

1.6

1.3

10.6

2.0

(0.4)

0.5

0.2

12.9

–

0.3

1.4

–

0.6

0.2

15.4

7.5

1.1

(0.4)

0.3

8.5

1.4

0.1

10.0

5.4

4.4

0.6

0.2

(0.2)

–

–

0.6

0.1

–

0.2

(0.1)

–

–

0.8

0.3

0.1

(0.1)

–

0.3

0.1

–

0.4

0.4

0.3

89

1.7

0.1

–

0.1

0.1

2.0

–

–

0.2

–

–

–

2.2

1.4

0.1

–

–

1.5

0.2

–

1.7

0.5

0.5

–

0.6

–

(0.6)

–

–

–

–

0.7

–

(0.6)

–

0.1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

0.1

–

22.7

2.9

(0.6)

–

0.8

25.8

0.4

0.6

2.5

(0.1)

–

0.4

29.6

10.0

1.6

(0.5)

0.3

11.4

2.0

0.1

13.5

16.1

14.4

The Group has entered into agreements to lease land and buildings ranging from 36 years to 999 years. 

The Group has pledged all property, plant and equipment as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

14.  Subsidiaries

Details of principal subsidiaries as at 31 December 2015, all of which are consolidated are as follows:

90

Place of 
incorporation/
ownership
(or registration)
and operation

Switzerland

USA

UK

Denmark

Germany

Norway

France

Sweden

UK

China

Italy

HK

Singapore

Vietnam

Singapore

 Name of Subsidiary

XP Power AG

XP Power LLC

XP PLC

XP Power ApS

XP Power GmbH

XP Power Norway AS

XP Power SA

XP Power Sweden AB

Powersolve Electronics 
Limited*

XP Power (Shanghai) Co., 
Limited

XP Power Srl

XP Power (Hong Kong) 
Limited

XP Power Singapore 
Holdings Pte Limited

XP Power (Vietnam) Co., 
Limited

XP Power Singapore 
Manufacturing Pte Ltd

XP Power (Israel) Ltd

Israel

Proportion
of
Ownership
2015
(%)

Proportion
of
Ownership
2014
(%)

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

Statutory Auditor of subsidiaries

Karpf Treuhand & Revisions AG

Exempted to be audited by local statutory law

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Bierholm

Exempted to be audited by local statutory law

BDO AS

Deloitte 

Rodl & Partner Nordic AB

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

100

100

Shanghai Jahwa CPAs

Exempted to be audited by local statutory law

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers Limited

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers (Vietnam) Limited

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

–

Ernst and Young Solutions LLP

* The legal shareholding and the proportion of voting power held is 84% (2014: 84%). Refer to Note 20.

15.  Cash and cash equivalents

£ Millions

Cash at bank and on hand

Short-term bank deposits

Total 

2015

4.3

0.6

4.9

2014

3.8

–

3.8

For the purpose of presenting the consolidated cash flow statement, the consolidated cash and cash equivalents comprise the 
following:

£ Millions

Cash at bank and on hand (as above)

Less: Bank overdrafts (Note 21)

Cash and cash equivalents per 
consolidated cash flow statement

2015

4.9

(0.6)

4.3

2014

 3.8

(2.5)

1.3

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 515.  Cash and cash equivalents continued

Reconciliation of changes in Cash and Cash Equivalents to movements in Net Debt

£ Millions

Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents  

(Proceeds from borrowings)/repayment of borrowings

Effects of currency translation 

Movement in net debt

Net cash/(debt) at start of year

Net (debt)/cash at end of year

Reconciliation to free cash flow

£ Millions

Net cash inflow from operating activities

Research and development expenditure capitalised 

Net interest paid

Free cash flow

2015

3.2

(8.0)

(0.2)

(5.0)

1.3

(3.7)

2015

21.0

(2.9)

(0.1)

 18.0

2014

 (2.4)

 7.3

 (0.1)

 4.8

 (3.5)

 1.3

2014

21.8

(2.9)

(0.1)

18.8

91

Acquisition of subsidiary
On 20 May 2015, the Group acquired a 51% equity interest in Hanpower Co., Ltd. The principal activity of Hanpower Co., Ltd is that 
of providing power supply solutions to the healthcare, industrial and technology industries in Korea.

Details of the consideration paid, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed and the effects on the cash flows of the Group, at the 
acquisition date, are as follows:

(a)  Purchase consideration

Cash paid 

Consideration payable

Total purchase consideration

Consideration transferred for the subsidiary 

(b)  Effect on cash flows of the Group

Cash paid (as above)

Less: cash and cash equivalents in subsidiary acquired

Cash outflow on acquisition

(c) Assets acquired and liabilities assumed

Cash and cash equivalents

Property, plant and equipment

Inventories 

Trade and other receivables

Total assets

Trade and other payables

Total liabilities

Total net assets

Less: Non-controlling interest

Add: Goodwill

Consideration transferred for the subsidiary

Please refer to Note 31 for the effects of business combination on the cash flows of the Group.

1.3

0.1

1.4

1.4

1.3

(0.7)

0.6

0.7

0.4

0.2

0.3

1.6

(0.2)

(0.2)

1.4

(0.7)

0.7

1.4

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

16. 

Inventories

£ Millions

Goods for resale

Raw materials

Work-in-progress

Total

2015

18.9

9.5

0.3

28.7

2014

16.1

8.7

0.4

25.2

The cost of inventories recognised as an expense and included in “cost of sales” amounts to £55.1 million (2014: £51.0 million). 

92

17.  Trade receivables

£ Millions

Trade receivables

Total 

2015

17.5

17.5

2014

16.0

16.0

The average credit period taken on sales of goods is 58 days (2014: 58 days). No interest is charged on the outstanding receivables 
balance. The carrying amounts of trade receivables approximate their fair values.

18.  Other current assets

£ Millions

Other receivables and prepayments 

Total 

19.  Total current liabilities

£ Millions

Trade and other payables

Current income tax liabilities

Bank loans and overdrafts (see Note 21)

Total 

2015

2.4

2.4

2015

14.6

1.2

4.0

19.8

2014

1.7

1.7

2014

14.4

1.7

2.5

18.6

Trade creditors and other payables principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs. The carrying 
amounts of trade and other payables approximate their fair values.

20.  Provision for deferred contingent consideration

£ Millions

At 1 January

Movement in provision during the year

Adjustment for unwinding of discount rate

At 31 December 

Non-current portion of provision for deferred contingent consideration

Total 

2015

1.7

(0.3)

0.1

1.5

1.5

1.5

2014

1.7

 (0.1)

0.1

1.7

1.7

1.7

The Group owns 84.0% (2014: 84.0%) of the shares of Powersolve Electronics Limited (“Powersolve”) and had entered into an 
agreement on 19 December 2011 to purchase the remaining 16.0% of the shares in 2017.

The commitment to purchase the remaining ownership interest has been accounted for as deferred consideration and is calculated 
based on the expected future payment which will be based on a predefined multiple of the earnings for the three years ending 2016.

The future payment is discounted to the present value, with the discount amortised to interest expense each period as the payment 
draws nearer. At each reporting period, the anticipated future payment is recalculated and an adjustment made accordingly, with a 
corresponding adjustment to goodwill. As a result of the purchase commitment and the amount of control XP Power Limited exerts 
over Powersolve, the Powersolve results are fully consolidated in the Group with a non-controlling interest charge made in the 
amount of dividends that will be payable for that year to the non-controlling shareholders.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 521.  Borrowings

The borrowings are repayable as follows:

£ Millions

On demand or within one year

In the second year

Total

The carrying amounts of the Group’s borrowings are denominated in the following currencies:

December 2015
£ Millions

Bank overdrafts

Bank loans

Total

December 2014
£ Millions

Bank overdrafts

Total

The average interest rates paid were as follows:

Bank overdrafts

Bank loans

GBP

0.6

–

0.6

GBP

0.6

0.6

USD

–

8.0

8.0

USD

1.8

1.8

2015

4.0

4.6

8.6

2014

2.5

–

2.5

EUR

Total

93

–

–

–

EUR

0.1

0.1

2015

2.1%

1.5%

0.6

8.0

8.6

Total

2.5

2.5

2014

 2.3%

1.9%

The fair value of the Group’s bank loans and overdrafts are the same as their book value.

The other principal features of the Group’s borrowings are as follows:

(1)  Bank overdrafts are repayable on demand. The bank overdrafts are secured on the assets of the Group. At 31 December 2015, 
the Group had an overdraft of £0.6 million (2014: £2.5 million). In September 2015, the Group renewed its annual working capital 
facility to US$12.5 million (2014: US$15.0 million). This facility steps down to US$10.0 million from 1 January 2016, then reduces 
to US$7.5 million from 1 April 2016 and to US$5.0 million from 1 July 2016. The facility is priced at the Bank of Scotland (BOS) 
base rate plus a margin of 1.5%.

(2)  The Group has entered into a new term loan facility of US$12.0 million (£8.0 million) with BOS on 20 November 2015. The facility 
is repayable in equal quarterly instalments of US$1.7 million commencing in June 2016 and ending in December 2017. The term 
loan is priced at LIBOR plus a margin of 0.95%. (2014: priced at LIBOR plus a margin of 1.75%).

(3)  The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group by BOS.

(4)  Management assessed financial loan covenants have been complied with as at 31 December 2015. 

22.  Derivative financial instruments
Forward foreign exchange contracts
The Group utilises currency derivatives to hedge highly probable forecast transactions. The instruments purchased are denominated 
in the currencies of the Group’s principal markets. 

(a) Qualify for hedge accounting
In 2015, the total notional amount of outstanding currency forward contracts that the Group has committed is £4.8 million (2014: 
£6.8 million). These contracts are to hedge against exchange rate movements on future sales and qualify for hedge accounting. 

December 2015
£ Millions

Forward foreign exchange contracts

Current portion

Total

Contract notional 
amount

Fair value asset

4.8

4.8

4.8

0.2

0.2

0.2

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

22.  Derivative financial instruments continued
Forward foreign exchange contracts continued
(a) Qualify for hedge accounting continued

December 2014
£ Millions

Forward foreign exchange contracts

Current portion

Non-current portion

94

Total

Contract 
notional amount

Fair value 
asset

6.8

6.6

0.2

6.8

0.6

0.6

–

0.6

(b) Do not qualify for hedge accounting
Certain currency forward contracts were taken up to protect against exchange rate movements on future purchases of goods. These 
contracts do not qualify for hedge accounting.

The total notional amount and fair value (liability) of these forward contracts are as follows:

December 2015
£ Millions

Forward foreign exchange contracts

Current portion

Total

December 2014
£ Millions

Forward foreign exchange contracts

Current portion

Total

23.  Deferred income taxes

Contract notional 
amount

Fair value 
(liability)

6.5

6.5

6.5

(0.2)

(0.2)

(0.2)

Contract notional 
amount

Fair value (liability)

5.6

5.6

5.6

(0.3)

(0.3)

(0.3)

The following are the major deferred tax assets and (liabilities) recognised by the Group and movements thereon during the current 
and prior reporting period.

£ Millions

At 1 January 2014

Charge to income statement

At 1 January 2015

Charge to income statement

At 31 December 2015

Accelerated
tax
depreciation

Goodwill 
amortisation

Share 
based 
payment

Capitalised 
development 
costs

Other
temporary 
differences

(0.2)

(0.2)

(0.4)

(0.3)

(0.7)

(0.8)

(0.1)

(0.9)

(0.4)

(1.3)

0.4

(0.1)

0.3

0.1

0.4

(1.8)

(0.3)

(2.1)

(0.8)

(2.9)

0.9

 –

0.9

0.1

1.0

Total

(1.5)

(0.7)

(2.2)

(1.3)

(3.5)

£ Millions

Deferred tax assets

 – To be recovered after more than 12 months

Deferred tax liabilities

 – To be recovered after more than 12 months

Deferred tax liabilities (net)

2015

2014

0.4

0.4

(3.9)

(3.9)

(3.5)

0.3

0.3

(2.5)

(2.5)

(2.2)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
24.  Share capital and reserves

Called up share capital 

£ Millions

Allotted and fully paid 19,242,296 ordinary shares (2014: 19,242,296)

2015

 27.2

2014

27.2

As at 31 December 2015, the Group’s Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) held 235,870 (2014: 237,684) shares carrying a 
value of £1,399,433 (2014: £1,392,044) owned by the Trust. 

Merger reserve

£ Millions

Balance at 31 December 

Treasury shares

£ Millions

Balance at 1 January 

Sale of treasury shares

Purchase of treasury shares

Employee share option plan expenses

Balance at 31 December 

Hedging reserve

£ Millions

Balance at 1 January 

Fair value (loss) / gain

Balance at 31 December 

Translation reserve

£ Millions

Balance at 1 January 

Exchange differences on translation of foreign operations

Balance at 31 December

Retained earnings

£ Millions

Balance at 1 January

Dividend paid

Profit for the year

Loss on treasury shares

Balance at 31 December

2015

 0.2

2014

0.2

95

2015

2014

(1.1)

0.3

(0.3)

0.1

(1.0)

2015

0.6

 (0.5)

0.1

2015

(6.3)

1.0

 (5.3)

2015

59.6

(12.0)

19.7

(0.2)

67.1

(1.0)

0.1

(0.3)

0.1

(1.1)

2014

(0.3)

0.9

0.6

2014

(8.0)

1.7

(6.3)

2014

51.1

(10.8)

19.4

(0.1)

59.6

Non-controlling interests
The non-controlling shareholders are entitled to their share of any dividend declared. £0.2 million was paid to Powersolve 
non-controlling shareholders in 2015. The balance payable for 2015 was £0.1 million (2014: £0.1 million). 

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

25.  Operating leases and other commitments

At the balance sheet date, the Group had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under operating leases 
which fall due as follows:

£ Millions

Within one year

In the second to fifth years inclusive

After five years

Total

2015

2014

1.3

2.5

0.7

4.5

1.3

3.0

0.9

5.2

2014

0.9

0.9

96

Operating lease payments represent rentals payable by the Group for certain of its office properties and warehouses.

26.  ESOP loan to employees

£ Millions

ESOP loan to employees

Total 

2015

 0.7

 0.7

The Group offers interest free loans to employees to purchase company shares under a deferred payment scheme managed through 
the XP Employees’ Share Ownership Plan Trust (ESOP). Under this scheme, payment is deferred until the shares are sold. The 
shares cannot be sold until four years from the date of acquisition. However, the loan becomes interest bearing after ten years. The 
Group does not classify a portion of this loan under current assets as the Company cannot predict when the employees will repay 
their loans.

27.  Pensions

The total pensions cost recognised is £4.1million (2014: £3.5 million) for the Group. 

In the USA, the Group operates a defined contribution “401K Plan”. The Group can contribute an amount matching the employees’ 
contribution up to a maximum of 2% of the employees’ total earnings. The total cost charged to the income statement of £1.8 million 
(2014: £1.6 million) represents the Group’s “matching” contribution.

In the United Kingdom and Europe, the Group operates defined contribution pension schemes for its employees with contributions 
amounting to £1.2 million (2014: £1.1 million). 

In Asia, the Group contributes to the defined contribution plans regulated and managed by the governments of the countries in 
which the Group operates. The Group’s contribution to the defined contribution plans is charged to the income statement in the 
period to which the contributions relate. The total cost charged to the income statement was £1.1 million (2014: £0.8 million).

28.   Related party transactions

Transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries, which are related parties of the Company have been eliminated on 
consolidation and are not disclosed in this note.

As at 31 December 2015, the Company’s Employee Share Ownership Plan has provided interest–free loans totalling £137,056 
(2014: £157,346) to 1 Director (2014: 1 Director) for the deferred payment share scheme. The detailed information is provided for in 
the Directors’ Remuneration Report on pages 55 to 61.

The remuneration of the Directors of the Group is set out below for each of the categories specified in IAS 24 ‘Related Party 
Disclosures’. Further information about the remuneration of the individual Directors is provided in the Directors’ Remuneration Report 
on pages 55 to 61.

Short-term employee benefits

Post-employment benefits

Total Directors’ remuneration

2015
£

1,043,261

22,320

1,065,581

2014
£

936,360

21,685

958,045

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
97

29.  Share-based payments

Options have been granted under the Company’s Approved Share Option Schemes. The numbers outstanding, subscription prices 
and exercise periods are as follows:

Number of shares

Exercise Price

Grant Date

Expiry Date 

3,100

60,750

345,000

408,850

£3.90

£5.073

£9.46

28 September 2006*

28 September 2016

26 April 2007*

26 April 2017

10 October 2012 

10 October 2022

* Approved option schemes, vesting in four equal annual instalments from the exercisable date.

Outstanding at beginning of the year

Exercised during the year

Outstanding at the end of the year

Exercisable at the end of the year

2015

2014

Number of 
share options

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(pence)

431,750

(22,900)

408,850

63,850

852

419

877

502

Number of 
share options

442,250

(10,500)

431,750

86,750

Weighted 
average 
exercise price 
(pence)

844

485

852

480 

The weighted average share price at the date of exercise for the share options exercised during the period was £16.17 (2014: 
£16.27). The options outstanding at 31 December 2015 had a weighted average exercise price of £8.77 (2014: £8.52), and a 
weighted average remaining contractual life of 5.9 years.

In 2015, the Group has taken a charge of £0.1million (2014: £0.1 million) to recognize the issuance of employee share based 
options. The fair value of options was determined using the Black Scholes Model with a share price of £10.09 and a weighted 
average exercise price of £9.46, standard deviation of expected share returns of 0.0171, and an annual risk free interest rate of 
0.33%. The volatility measured as the standard deviation of expected share price returns was based on statistical analysis of share 
prices over the last year.

30.  Financial risk management

The Group’s activities expose it to capital risk, currency risk (including both transactional and translational currency risk), interest rate 
risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. The Group seeks to minimise adverse effects from the unpredictability of financial markets on the 
Group’s financial performance. 

(a) Capital risk
The Group manages its capital to ensure that the entities in the Group will be able to continue as a going concern while maximising 
the return to shareholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity.

The capital structure of the Group consists of debt, which includes the borrowings disclosed in Note 21, cash and equity attributable 
to equity holders of the parent, comprising issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in Note 24.

The Board reviews the capital structure of the business and considers the cost of capital and risks associated with each class of 
capital. The Group aims to balance its overall capital structure through the payment of dividends, new share issues and share 
buy-backs as well as the issue of new debt or the redemption of existing debt.

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

30.  Financial risk management continued

(b) Currency risk
The Group operates in North America, Europe and Asia and its activities expose it to transactional risks resulting from changes 
in foreign currency exchange rates. The Group monitors and manages these transactional foreign exchange risks relating to the 
operations of the Group through internal reports analysing major currency exposures. Where possible, the Group seeks to offset 
exposures by matching monetary asset and liability exposures in like currencies against each other, often using its bank facilities 
to square off or reduce exposures. To manage the currency risk, the Group manages the overall currency exposure mainly through 
currency forwards. The Group’s risk management policy is to hedge a portion of highly probable forecast purchase transactions by 
our customers. 

98

In addition the Group is exposed to translation risk when the results of its various operations are translated from their local functional 
currencies to Sterling, the Group’s reporting currency. In particular a significant proportion of the Group’s revenues and earnings are 
derived in US Dollars. The Group is therefore exposed to risk when these US Dollar revenue streams are translated into Sterling for 
Group reporting purposes. The Group regards this as a fundamental consequence of operating in markets which are dominated by 
US Dollar transactions. The Group does not hedge this translational risk as there is no underlying mismatch of foreign currencies as 
the translation is merely performed for reporting the Group’s results in Sterling.

The Group’s transactional currency exposure based on the information provided to key management is as follows:

£ Millions

At 31 December 2015

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade receivables

Other current assets

ESOP loan to employees

Sub-total

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Trade and other payables

Other financial liabilities

Sub-total

Net financial assets/(liabilities)

Add: Firm commitments and highly 
probable forecast transactions in foreign 
currency

Less: Currency forwards 

Currency profile excluding 
non-financial assets and liabilities

Less: Financial assets/(liabilities) 
denominated in the respective entities’ 
functional currencies

Currency exposure of financial 
assets/(liabilities)

GBP

EUR

USD

Others

Total

0.8

1.8

0.8

0.7

4.1

(0.6)

(1.0)

(1.5)

(3.1)

1.0

–

5.6

6.6

0.4

7.0

0.7

1.6

–

–

2.3

–

(0.5)

–

(0.5)

1.8

7.5

(5.7)

3.6

1.3

4.9

1.9

13.8

1.3

–

17.0

(8.0)

(12.7)

–

(20.7)

(3.7)

–

–

(3.7)

(7.4)

(11.1)

1.5

0.3

0.3

–

2.1

–

(0.4)

–

(0.4)

1.7

–

–

1.7

1.1

2.8

4.9

17.5

2.4

0.7

25.5

(8.6)

(14.6)

(1.5)

(24.7)

0.8

7.5

(0.1)

8.2

(4.6)

3.6

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
30.  Financial risk management continued

(b) Currency risk continued

£ Millions

At 31 December 2014

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade receivables

Other current assets

ESOP loan to employees

Sub-total

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Trade and other payables

Other financial liabilities

Sub-total

Net financial assets

Add: Firm commitments and highly 
probable forecast transactions in foreign 
currency

Less: Currency forwards

Currency profile excluding 
non-financial assets and liabilities

Less: Financial assets/(liabilities) 
denominated in the respective entities’ 
functional currencies

Currency exposure of financial 
assets/(liabilities)

GBP

EUR

USD

Others

TOTAL

1.0

1.9

0.7

0.9

4.5

(0.6)

(1.2)

(1.5)

(3.3)

1.2

–

4.9

6.1

0.6

6.7

0.6

1.5

–

–

2.1

(0.1)

(0.5)

(0.1)

(0.7)

1.4

6.4

(7.5)

0.3

1.3

1.6

1.8

12.4

0.8

–

15.0

(1.8)

(12.4)

(0.1)

(14.3)

0.7

–

–

0.7

(2.0)

(1.3)

99

0.4

0.2

0.2

–

0.8

–

(0.3)

–

(0.3)

0.5

–

0.5

0.3

0.8

3.8

16.0

1.7

0.9

22.4

(2.5)

(14.4)

(1.7)

(18.6)

3.8

6.4

(2.6)

7.6

0.2

7.8

If the US Dollar and Euro change against Sterling by 4% and 7% respectively (2014: US Dollar 6%, Euro 5%) with all other variables, 
including tax rates, being held constant, the effects arising from the net financial asset/(liability) position will be as follows: 

£ Millions

Group

EUR against GBP

 – strengthened

 – weakened

USD against GBP

 – strengthened

 – weakened

2015
Profit after tax

2014
Profit after tax

0.3

(0.3) 

(0.4) 

0.4 

0.1

(0.1)

 (0.1)

 0.1

The impact of the currency risk on the other comprehensive income is not significant.

(c) Interest rate risk
The Group’s borrowings are at variable interest rates and are denominated in a number of currencies including Euros, Sterling, Swiss 
Francs and US Dollars. If the average interest rates on these borrowings increased/decreased by 0.5% (2014: 0.5%) with all other 
variables, including tax rates, being held constant, the profit after tax will be lower/higher by £28,000 (2014: £33,000) as a result of 
higher/lower interest expense on these borrowings.

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NOTES TO ThE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

30.  Financial risk management continued

(d) Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that the counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in a financial loss to the Group. 
For trade receivables the Group adopts a policy of only dealing with customers of appropriate credit history or rating. For other 
financial assets, the Group adopts the policy of only dealing with high credit quality counterparties.

The Group’s business is highly fragmented, reducing the credit exposure to any one customer. At the balance sheet date no 
individual trade receivable represented more than 7% (2014: 6%) of the total trade receivables balance.

The credit risk for trade receivables, which are all with non–related parties, by geographic area is as follows: 

£ Millions

100

By geographical areas

Europe

North America

Asia

The age analysis of trade receivables past due and/or impaired is as follows:  

£ Millions

Past due 0 – 2 months

Past due 3 – 4 months

Past due over 4 months

2015

2014

6.2

8.4

2.9

17.5

5.9

8.0

2.1

16.0

2015

2014

4.4

0.3 

0.5 

5.2

3.5

0.3

0.5

4.3

The carrying amount of trade receivables individually determined to be impaired and the movement in the related allowance for 
impairment are as follows:

£ Millions

Gross amount

Less: Allowance for impairment

Beginning of financial year

Allowance made

End of the financial year

2015

2014

0.4

(0.3)

0.1

(0.3)

 –

(0.3)

0.4

(0.3)

 0.1

(0.3)

–

(0.3)

(e) Liquidity risk
The table below analyses the maturity profile of the Group’s non–derivative financial liabilities at the balance sheet date based on 
contractual undiscounted cash flows. Balances due within 12 months equal their carrying amounts as the impact of discounting is 
not significant.

£ Millions

Group

At 31 December 2015

Trade and other payables

Provision for deferred contingent 
consideration

Borrowings

Total

Less than 
1 year

Between 
1 and 2 years

Between 
2 and 5 years

Over 
5 Years

14.6

–

4.0

18.6

–

1.5

4.6

6.1

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Total

14.6

1.5

8.6

24.7

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
30.  Financial risk management continued

(e) Liquidity risk continued

£ Millions

Group

At 31 December 2014

Trade and other payables

Provision for deferred contingent 
consideration

Borrowings

Total

Less than 
1 year

Between 
1 and 2 years

Between 
2 and 5 years

Over 
5 Years

14.4

–

2.5

16.9

–

–

–

–

–

1.7

–

1.7

–

–

–

–

Total

14.4

1.7

2.5

18.6

101

The Group manages the liquidity risk by maintaining sufficient cash and bank facilities to enable it to meet its normal operating 
commitments.

(f) Fair value measurements
The table below analyses financial instruments carried at fair value, by valuation method. The different levels have been defined as 
follows: 

i.  Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1);

ii. 

Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e. as prices) or 
indirectly (i.e. derived from prices) (Level 2); and

iii.  Inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs) (Level 3).

The following table presents the assets and liabilities measured at fair value at 31 December 2015.

2015
£ Millions

Assets

Derivatives used for hedging

Liabilities

Derivatives used for hedging

* These balances are less than £100,000

2014
£ Millions

Assets

Derivatives used for hedging

Liabilities

Derivatives used for hedging

 Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

–

–

*

–

–

–

–

–

 Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

–

–

0.3

–

–

–

0.3

–

The fair value of financial instruments that are not traded in an active market (for example, over-the-counter derivatives) is determined 
by using valuation techniques. The Group uses a variety of methods and makes assumptions that are based on market conditions 
existing at each balance sheet date. The fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is determined using quoted forward 
exchange rates at the balance sheet date. These derivative financial instruments are included in Level 2.

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For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

30.  Financial risk management continued
(g) Offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities

(i) Financial assets

£ Millions

102

At 31 December 2015

Derivative financial assets

At 31 December 2014

Derivative financial assets

(ii) Financial liabilities

£ Millions

At 31 December 2015

Derivative financial liabilities

At 31 December 2014

Derivative financial liabilities

Related amounts set off in the balance sheet

Related amounts not set off in the balance sheet

Gross 
amount – 
 financiall 
assets

Gross 
amount – 
 financial 
liabilities

Net amount – 
 financial 
assets 
presented in 
the balance 
sheet

 Financial 
assets/
 liabilities

Financial 
collateral 
received

Net amount

 0.2

0.2

0.6

0.6

(0.2)

(0.2)

 (0.3)

 (0.3)

–

–

0.3

0.3

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

 –

–

0.3

0.3

Related amounts set off in the balance sheet

Related amounts not set off in the balance sheet

Gross 
amount – 
 financial 
liabilities

Gross 
amount – 
 financial 
assets

Net amount – 
 financial 
liabilities 
presented in 
the balance 
sheet

 Financial 
assets/
 liabilities

Financial 
collateral 
pledged

Net amount

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

 –

–

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
31.  Business combination

On 24 November 2015, the Group acquired the assets and business of EMCO High Voltage Corporation (now known as XP–EMCO 
(“EMCO”). The principal activity of XP-EMCO is that of a high voltage power supply designer and manufacturer in North America. 

Details of the consideration paid, the assets acquired and liabilities assumed, the non-controlling interest recognised and the effects 
on the cash flows of the Group, at the acquisition date, are as follows: 

(a)

Purchase consideration

Cash paid

Total purchase consideration 

Consideration transferred for the business

(b)

Effect on cash flows of the Group

Cash paid (as above)

Less: cash and cash equivalents in subsidiary acquired

Cash outflow on acquisition

(c)

Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed

Property, plant and equipment (Note 13) 

Brand, Technology, Customers’ Relationships and Contracts (included in intangibles – Note 12)

Inventories 

Trade receivables 

Total assets

Trade and other payables

Total liabilities

Total identifiable net assets 

Add: Goodwill (Note 11)

Consideration transferred for the business

(d) 

Acquisition-related costs

103

£ Millions

7.7

7.7

7.7

7.7

–

7.7

 At fair value
 £ Millions

0.6

0.9

0.5

0.5

2.5

 (0.1)

 (0.1)

2.4

5.3

7.7

 Acquisition-related costs of £268,000 are included in “administrative expenses” in the consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income and in operating cash flows in the consolidated statement of cash flows.

(e) 

Acquired receivables

 The fair value of trade receivables is £0.5 million. The gross contractual amount for trade receivables due is £0.5 million, of 
which none is expected to be uncollectible. 

(f) 

Provisional fair values

 The fair value of the acquired identifiable intangible assets of £0.9 million (brand, technology, customers’ relationships and 
contracts) has been provisionally determined pending the final completion of the valuation exercise. 

(g) 

Goodwill

 The goodwill of £5.3 million arising from the acquisition is attributable to the distribution network in America and the synergies 
expected to arise from the economies of scale in combining the operations of the Group with those of EMCO.

(h) 

Revenue and profit contribution

 The acquired business contributed revenue of £0.5 million and net profit of £0.1 million to the Group from the period from 
24 November 2015 to 31 December 2015. Had EMCO been consolidated from 1 January 2015, consolidated revenue 
and consolidated profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2015 would have been £115.2 million and £26.1 million 
respectively.

32.  Other information

These financial statements were authorised for issue in accordance with a resolution of the Board of Directors of XP Power Limited 
on 22 February 2016.

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COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

£’000

ASSETS

Current assets

Cash and cash equivalents

Trade and other receivables

Other current assets

Derivative financial instruments

104

Inventories

Total current assets

Non-current assets

Investments in subsidiaries

Property, plant and equipment

Intangible assets

Derivative financial instruments

Long term receivable

Total non-current assets

Total assets

LIABILITIES

Current liabilities

Trade and other payables

Current income tax liabilities

Bank overdraft

Total current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Deferred income tax liabilities

Total non-current liabilities

Total liabilities

NET ASSETS

EQUITY

Share capital

Hedging reserve

Translation reserve

Retained earnings

TOTAL EQUITY

As at 31 December 2015

Note

2015

2014

4

5

6

7

8

3

9

10

7

13

12

14

15

11

16

16

16

16

1,026

20,192

707

20

7,743

29,688

1,021

12,696

417

263

6,291

20,688

29,786

29,786

1,778

3,294

–

5,999

40,857

70,545

17,336

1,857

576

19,769

666

666

20,435

50,110

29,786

157

1,513

18,654

50,110

1,859

2,596

23

5,783

40,047

60,735

10,294

1,416

507

12,217

332

332

12,549

48,186

29,786

617

648

17,135

48,186

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5Heading 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
NOTES TO ThE COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

1.  General information

XP Power Limited (the “Company”) is listed on the London Stock Exchange and incorporated and domiciled in Singapore. 
The address of its registered office is 401 Commonwealth Drive, Lobby B, #02–02, Haw Par Technocentre, Singapore 149598.

The nature of the Company’s operations and its principal activities are manufacturing, providing power supply solutions and acting as 
an investment holding company.

2.  Basis of accounting policies

The principal accounting policies are set out in Note 2 under the Group Consolidated Financial Statements.

3. 

Investment in subsidiaries

£’000

Cost at carrying value

At 1 January 

At 31 December 

Name of
Subsidiary

XP Power Plc

XP Power Singapore Holdings 
Pte Limited

Place of 
incorporation/
Ownership (or
registration)
and operation

UK

Singapore

4.  Cash and cash equivalents

£’000

Cash at bank

Total 

2015

2014

105

29,786

29,786

29,786

29,786

Proportion of 
Ownership %
2015

Proportion of 
Ownership %
2014

Auditor of 
subsidiaries

100

100

100

100

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

2015

1,026

1,026

2014

1,021

1,021

The Company’s cash at bank is denominated in the following currencies:

GBP
£‘000

USD
£‘000

EUR
£‘000

SGD
£‘000

JPY
£‘000

SEK
£‘000

DKK
£‘000

NOK
£‘000

Total
£‘000

At 31 December 2015

Cash at bank

35

501

227

172

3

7

31

50

1,026

GBP
£‘000

USD
£‘000

EUR
£‘000

SGD
£‘000

JPY
£‘000

SEK
£‘000

DKK
£‘000

NOK
£‘000

Total
£‘000

At 31 December 2014

Cash at bank

43

780

145

50

1

–

2

–

1,021

The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

5.  Trade and other receivables

£’000

Trade receivables

Trade receivables from Group companies

Total 

2015

2,736

17,456

20,192

2014

1,840

10,856

12,696

The average credit period taken on sales of goods is 64 days (2014: 44 days). No interest is charged on the outstanding receivables 
balance.

The Directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value.

106

The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

6.   Other current assets

£’000

Deposit

Other receivables and prepayments

Total 

2015

59

648

707

2014

61

356

417

The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

7.   Derivative financial instruments

The total notional amount of outstanding currency forward contracts that the Company has committed is £4.8 million (2014: £6.8 
million). These contracts are to hedge against exchange movements on future sales and qualify for hedge accounting.

As at 31 December 2015, the fair value asset of the currency forward contracts recognised under a hedging reserve is £157,000 
(2014: £617,000) (Note 16).

December 2015
£’000

Current portion

Total

December 2014
£’000

Current portion

Non-current portion

Total

Contract 
notional 
amount

 4,814

4,814

Contract 
notional 
amount

6,569

235

6,804

Fair 
value asset

157

157

Fair 
value asset

594

23

617

Certain currency forward contracts were taken up to protect against exchange movements on future sales. These contracts did not 
qualify for hedge accounting.

December 2015
£’000

Current portion

Total

December 2014
£’000

Current portion

Total

Contract 
notional 
amount

6,548

6,548

Contract 
notional 
amount

5,604

5,604

Fair value 
(liability)

(137)

(137)

Fair value 
 (liability)

(331)

(331)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 58. 

Inventories

£’000

Goods for resale

The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

9.   Property, plant and equipment

2015

7,743

2014

6,291

Freehold land

Building

equipment Motor vehicles

Plant and 

Building 
improvements

Total

£’000

Cost

At 1 January 2014

179

1,426

1,004

Additions

Disposals

Foreign currency translation

–

–

9

–

–

76

285

(28)

55

At 1 January 2015

188

1,502

1,316

Additions

Foreign currency translation

–

7

37

19

26

62

At 31 December 2015

195

1,558

1,404

Depreciation

At 1 January 2014

Charge for the year

Disposals

Foreign currency translation

At 1 January 2015

Charge for the year

Disposals

Foreign currency translation

At 31 December 2015

Carrying amount

At 31 December 2015

At 31 December 2014

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

220

45

–

12

277

46

–

11

334

195

188

1,224

1,225

731

128

(14)

39

884

125

–

36

1,045

359

432

The Group has pledged all assets as collateral to secure banking facilities granted to the Group.

10

–

–

–

10

–

–

10

10

–

–

–

10

–

–

–

10

–

–

333

2,952

107

2

–

17

352

–

12

364

304

18

–

16

338

13

–

13

364

–

14

287

(28)

157

3,368

63

100

3,531

1,265

191

(14)

67

1,509

184

–

60

1,753

1,778

1,859

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

10.  Intangible assets

£’000

Cost

Balance at 1 January

Additions

Balance at 31 December

Amortisation

Balance at 1 January

Additions

Balance at 31 December

Carrying amount

Balance at 31 December

108

2015

2014

3,605

1,454

5,059

1,009

756

1,765

2,538

1,067

3,605

469

540

1,009

3,294

2,596

Intangible assets arise from development costs incurred on the Group’s products. The amortisation period for development costs 
incurred varies between four and seven years according to the expected useful life of the products being developed. 

Amortisation commences when the products are ready for sale.

11.  Deferred income taxes

The following are the major deferred tax liabilities recognised by the Company and movements thereon during the current and prior 
reporting period.

£’000

At 1 January 2014

Charge to income statement

Exchange difference

At 1 January 2015

Charge to income statement

Exchange difference

At 31 December 2015

£’000

Deferred tax liabilities – to be recovered after more than 12 months

Total 

Accelerated
 tax 
depreciation

Capitalised 
development 
costs

Other
temporary 
differences

(39)

(9)

(2)

(50)

(23)

(1)

(74)

(212)

 (44)

(11)

(267)

(270)

(13)

(550)

(22)

 8

(1)

(15)

(26)

(1)

(42)

2015

(666)

(666)

Total

(273)

 (45)

(14)

(332)

(319)

(15)

(666)

2014

(332)

(332)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 512.  Trade and other payables

£’000

Trade payables and other creditors

Amount payable to Group companies

Total 

2015

4,940

12,396

17,336

2014

5,061

5,233

10,294

Trade payables and other creditors principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs. The Directors 
consider that the carrying amount of trade and other payables approximates their fair value.

The Company borrows from subsidiaries at an interest rate of 1.5% – 2.0% above LIBOR. The borrowing is repayable upon demand.

109

13.  Long term receivable

£’000

Loan to related parties

Total 

2015

5,999

5,999

Loan to XP Power Vietnam is recoverable on demand and bears interest at LIBOR plus 1.5% – 2.0% per annum.

14.  Current income tax liabilities

£’000

At 1 January

Currency translation differences

Income tax paid

Current year tax expense

At 31 December

15.   Bank overdraft

£’000

Bank overdraft

Total 

The Company’s bank overdraft is denominated in the following currencies:

At 31 December 2015

Bank overdraft

At 31 December 2014

Bank overdraft

2015

1,416

(11)

(1,183)

1,635

1,857

2015

576

576

USD
£’000

–

–

GBP
£’000

576

507

2014

5,783

5,783

2014

1,212

41

(1,071)

1,234

1,416

2014

507

507

Total
£’000

576

507

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSNOTES TO ThE COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

16.   Share capital and reserves

Share capital

£’000

Allotted and fully paid 19,242,296 ordinary shares

Retained earnings

£’000

110

Balance at 1 January

Dividends paid

Profit for the year

Balance at 31 December 

Translation reserve

£’000

Balance at 1 January

Exchange differences on translation

Balance at 31 December

Hedging reserve

£’000

Balance at 1 January

Fair value gain/(loss)

Balance at 31 December

2015

2014

29,786

29,786

2015

2014

17,135

(11,974)

13,493

18,654

15,565

(10,832)

12,402

17,135

2015

648

865

1,513

2015

617

 (460)

157

2014

(272)

920

648

2014

(325)

942

617

17.   Financial risk management

The Company’s activities expose it to capital risk, currency risk (including both transactional and translational currency risk), interest 
rate risk, credit risk and liquidity risk. The Company seeks to minimise adverse effects from the unpredictability of financial markets 
on the Company’s financial performance. 

(a) Capital risk
The Company manages its capital to ensure that it will be able to continue as a going concern while maximising the return to 
shareholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance.

The capital structure of the Company consists of debt, cash and equity attributable to equity holders of the parent, comprising 
issued capital, reserves and retained earnings as disclosed in Note 16.

(b) Currency risk
The Company operates in North America, Europe and Asia and and its activities expose it to transactional risks resulting from 
changes in foreign currency exchange rates. The Company monitors and manages these transactional foreign exchange risks 
relating to the operations of the Company through internal reports analysing major currency exposures. Where possible the Company 
seeks to offset exposures by matching monetary asset and liability exposures in like currencies against each other often using its 
bank facilities to square off or reduce exposures. To manage the currency risk, the Company manages the overall currency exposure 
mainly through currency forwards. The Company’s risk management policy is to hedge a portion of highly probable forecast sales 
transactions.

In addition the Company is exposed to translation risk when the results of its operations and balance sheet are converted from its 
functional currency to Sterling, the Group’s reporting currency. In particular a significant proportion of the Company’s revenues and 
earnings are derived in US Dollars. The Company regards this as a fundamental consequence of operating in markets which are 
dominated by US Dollar transactions. The Company does not hedge this translational risk as there is no underlying mismatch of 
foreign currencies as the translation is merely performed for reporting the Company’s results in Sterling.

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
111

17.   Financial risk management continued

(b) Currency risk continued
The Company’s currency exposure based on the information provided to key management is as follows:

At 31 December 2015
£’000

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade and other receivables

Other current assets

Subtotal

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Trade and other payables

Subtotal

Net financial (liabilities)/assets

Add: Firm commitments and highly 
probable forecast transactions in foreign 
currency

Less: Currency forwards

Currency profile excluding 
non-financial assets and liabilities 

Less: Financial assets denominated in the 
entity’s functional currencies

Currency exposure of financial assets 

At 31 December 2014
£’000

Financial assets

Cash and cash equivalents 

Trade and other receivables

Other current assets

Subtotal

Financial liabilities

Borrowings

Trade and other payables

Subtotal

Net financial (liabilities)/assets

Add: Firm commitments and highly 
probable forecast transactions in foreign 
currency

Less: Currency forwards

Currency profile excluding 
non-financial assets and liabilities 

Less: Financial assets denominated in the 
entity’s functional currencies

Currency exposure of financial 
(liabilities)/assets 

GBP

EUR

USD

Others

Total

35

1,806

421

2,262

(576)

(6,724)

(7,300)

(5,038)

–

5,600

562

–

562

227

1,032

 (45)

1,214

–

42

42

1,256

7,500

(5,762)

501

23,134

177

23,812

–

(10,553)

(10,553)

13,259

–

–

2,994

13,259

–

2,994

13,259

–

263

219

154

636

–

(101)

(101)

535

–

–

535

–

535

1,026

26,191

707

27,924

(576)

(17,336)

(17,912)

10,012

7,500

(162)

17,350

13,259

4,091

GBP

EUR

USD

Others

Total

43

9

249

301

(507)

(5,400)

(5,907)

(5,606)

–

4,900

(706)

–

(706)

145

1,025

(34)

1,136

–

131

131

1,267

6,366

(7,508)

125

–

125

780

17,319

137

18,236

–

(4,959)

(4,959)

13,277

–

–

13,277

13,277

–

53

126

65

244

–

(67)

(67)

177

–

–

177

–

177

1,021

18,479

417

19,917

(507)

(10,295)

(10,802)

9,115

6,366

(2,608)

12,873

13,277

(404)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALS 
NOTES TO ThE COMPANY BALANCE ShEET

For the financial year ended 31 December 2015

17.   Financial risk management continued

(c) Interest rate risk
The Company borrows from subsidiaries at an interest rate of 1.5% – 2.0% above LIBOR.

(d) Credit risk
Credit risk refers to the risk that the counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in a financial loss to the Company. 
For trade receivables the Company adopts a policy of only dealing with customers of appropriate credit history or rating. For other 
financial assets, the Company adopts the policy of only dealing with high credit quality counterparties.

The Company is not exposed to significant credit risk as a majority of the sales are made to the subsidiaries.

112

The Company does not hold any collateral and the maximum exposure to credit risk for each class of financial instruments is the 
carrying amount of that class of financial instruments on the balance sheet.

(e) Liquidity risk
The table below analyses the maturity profile of the Company’s financial liabilities at the balance sheet date based on contractual 
undiscounted cash flows. Balances due within 12 months equal their carrying amounts as the impact of discounting is not significant.

£‘000

At 31 December 2015

Trade and other payables

Bank overdraft

Total

£‘000

At 31 December 2014

Trade and other payables

Bank overdraft

Total

Less than 
1 year

Between 
1 and 2 years

Between 
2 and 5 years

Over  
5 years

17,336

576

17,912

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Less than 
1 year

Between 
1 and 2 years

Between 
2 and 5 years

Over 
5 years

10,294

507

10,801

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

Total

17,336

576

17,912

Total

10,294

507

10,801

The Company manages the liquidity risk by maintaining sufficient cash and bank facilities to enable it to meet its normal operating 
commitments. 

(f) Fair value measurements
The table below analyses financial instruments carried at fair value, by valuation method. The different levels have been defined as 
follows: 

i.  Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1);

ii. 

Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (i.e. as prices) or 
indirectly (i.e. derived from prices) (Level 2); and

iii.  Inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (unobservable inputs) (Level 3).

The following table presents the assets measured at fair value at 31 December 2015:

£’000
2015

Assets

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

Derivatives used for hedging

–

20

–

20

£’000
2014

Assets

Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Total

Derivatives used for hedging

–

286

–

286

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5 
 
 
 
 
17.   Financial risk management continued
(g) Offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities
(i)  Financial assets

The Group has the following financial instruments subject to enforceable master netting arrangements or similar agreements as 
follows:

Related amounts set off in the balance sheet

Related amounts not set off in the balance sheet

Gross 
amounts – 
financial 
assets

Gross 
amounts – 
financial 
liabilities

Net amounts – 
financial 
assets 
presented in 
the balance 
sheet

Financial 
assets /
liabilities

Financial 
collateral 
received

Net amount

113

167

1,083

1,250

634

2,660

3,294

(147)

(130)

(277)

(348)

(2,089)

(2,437)

20

953

973

286

571

857

–

16,503

16,503

–

10,285

10,285

–

–

–

–

–

–

20

17,456

17,476

286

10,856

11,142

As at 31 December 2015

Derivative financial assets

Trade receivables

Total

As at 31 December 2014

Derivative financial assets

Trade receivables

Total

(ii)  Financial liabilities

The Company has the following financial instruments subject to enforceable master netting arrangements or similar agreements as 
follows:

Related amounts set off in the balance sheet

Related amounts not set off in the balance sheet

Gross 
amounts – 
financial 
liabilities

Gross 
amounts – 
financial 
assets

Net amounts – 
financial 
liabilities 
presented in 
the balance 
sheet

Financial 
assets /
liabilities

Financial 
collateral 
pledged

Net amount

As at 31 December 2015

Derivative financial liabilities

Trade payables

Total

As at 31 December 2014

Derivative financial liabilities

Trade payables

Total

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

7,510

7,510

(2,277)

(2,277)

5,233

5,233

–

12,396

12,396

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

 –

12,396

12,396

 –

5,233

5,233

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALS 
FIvE YEAR REvIEW

Consolidated Information

114

Results

Revenue

Profit from operations

Profit before tax

Assets employed

Non-current assets

Current assets

Current liabilities

Non-current liabilities

Net assets

Financed by

Equity

Non-controlling interests

Key statistics (pence)

Earnings per share

Diluted earnings per share

Diluted adjusted earnings per share

Share price in the year (pence)

High

Low

Dividends per share (pence)

2015
£ Millions

2014
£ Millions

2013
£ Millions

2012
£ Millions

2011
£ Millions

109.7

25.6

25.4

65.4

53.5

(19.8)

(10.0)

89.1

88.3

0.8

89.1

103.7

102.8

104.3

101.1

24.5

24.3

56.1

47.0

(18.6)

(4.2)

80.3

80.2

0.1

80.3

102.1

101.1

101.1

101.1

23.3

22.9

53.3

42.2

(22.4)

(3.7)

69.4

69.2

0.2

69.4

95.8

95.1

95.1

93.9

21.0

20.2

52.8

39.3

(20.2)

(10.6)

61.3

61.1

0.2

61.3

81.7

81.3

81.3

103.6

25.3

24.3

52.7

46.9

(28.2)

(15.6)

55.8

55.6

0.2

55.8

107.1

106.4

106.4

1,750.0

1,375.0

66.0

1,798.0

1,340.0

61.0

1,630.0

1,283.0

1,950.0

972.0

55.0

805.0

50.0

870.0

45.0

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5XP POWER LIMITED ADvISERS

Company Brokers
Investec  
2 Gresham Street 
London 
EC2V 7QP 
United Kingdom

Principal Bankers
Bank of Scotland Plc 
The Mound 
Edinburgh 
EH1 1YZ 
United Kingdom

Solicitors
Osborne Clarke 
2 Temple Back East 
Temple Quay 
Bristol 
BS1 6EG 
United Kingdom

Registrars
Capita Registrars 
The Registry 
34 Beckenham Road 
Beckenham 
Kent 
BR3 4TU 
United Kingdom

Company Secretary
M & C Services Private Limited 
112 Robinson Road #05–01 
The Corporate Office 
Singapore 068902

Auditors
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP 
8 Cross Street, 
PWC Building, #17–00 
Singapore 048424

115

Printed on Cocoon Silk 50.

A recycled paper containing 50% recycled waste and 50% virgin fibre and manufactured  
at a mill certified with ISO 14001 environmental management standard.

The pulp used in this product is bleached using an Elemental Chlorine Free process. (ECF)

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5StraplineSign posting for pageOr captionwww.xppower.com   stock code: XPPXP Power Annual Report & Accounts  for the year ended 31 December 2015FINANCIALSShAREhOLDER INFORMATION

116

24637.02    20-2-16   Proof 5KNOWLEDGE

FLEXIBILITY

CUSTOMER 
FOCUS

SPEED

INTEGRITY

OUR CORE VALUES

KNOWLEDGE

FLEXIBILITY

Delivering genuine 
value to our 
customers through 
our knowledge and 
experience

Continually 
developing our skills 
and capabilities as 
individuals and as an 
organisation

Receptive to the needs 
of our customers to 
provide outstanding 
customer service

Willing to challenge 
the way we do 
things and adapt to 
constantly improve 
and innovate

Collaborating with 
our colleagues and 
customers for better 
results

CUSTOMER FOCUS
Always considering 
our customer’s 
experience in 
everything we do

Never forgetting that 
without our customer 
we do not have a 
business

SPEED

INTEGRITY

Responding to our 
customers and 
colleagues with 
impressive speed

Constantly looking 
at faster and more 
efficient ways of 
delivering value in 
everything we do

Honest in all our 
interactions with our 
colleagues, customers 
and suppliers

Always doing the  
right thing

Taking care of our 
people ensuring XP 
Power is a great place 
to work where we trust 
the people we work 
with, have pride in 
what we do and gain 
enjoyment from our 
work

24637.04    1 March 2016 1:11 PM   Proof 6

KNOWLEDGE

FLEXIBILITY

SPEED

INTEGRITY

CUSTOMER 

FOCUS

XP POWER LIMITED
401 Commonwealth Drive
haw Par teChnoCentre
lobby b #02-02
SingaPore 149598
T: +65 6411 6900
F: +65 6479 6305

24637.04    1 March 2016 1:11 PM   Proof 6