Untitled

Directors' Report
for the year ended 3l March 2000
The Chairmans Statement, the Business Revtews and the
Financial Revisr in this Annual Report together contain details
of the principal operations of the Group and their resulb during
the year as well as likev future de€lopmenb.
Wamer EMI Music
On 24 January 2000, the Company and Time Warner lnc.
announced their intentron, subject to shareholder approval,
regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of certain other
conditions, to combine their respectile music busineses to form
Warner EMI Musrc. The apprwal of the Companyb sirareholders
to the propo6al will be sought at an E;rtraordinary General
Meeting which is expected to be held on 26 June 2000,
Regulatory clearances and certain other conditions remain
outsanding as at the date of this Report.
Share capital
changes in the Companys st''are capital during the year are set
out in Note 25 on page 53.
Employment policies
The Group3 decentralised organietion empo\ €rs local
manag€ment, encouraging them to make the best decisions on a
timely, but informed, basis. Responsibility for employnrent matters
therefore rests primarily with each business operation under the
general umbrella of EMI Group5 policy and procedure guidelines.
EMI Group companies are committed to the maintenance of
a \ lork environment free of discrimination on the grounds of
gender nationality, ethnic or racial ongin, non-job-related disability
or marital status.
Detailed information on the proposed combination will be
set out in the Listing Partrculars which are expected to be posted
to slEreholde6 on 2 June 2000. tf the combinaron is comdeted,
the Company intends to change its financial period end to
31 December with effect from 31 December 2000.
Dividends
An intedm dMdend of 4.25p per Ordinary Share was paid on
3 March 2000. The Board is recommending a final dividend of
'11.75p per Ordinary Share, making a total of 16.0p (1999: 16.0p).
The final dMdend will be paid on Monday, 2 kober 2000 to
Ordinary Shareholders on the register as at the close of business
on Monday, 4 September 2000, with the shares going exdMdend
on Tuesday, 29 Augun 2000.
sub6tantial shareholders
As at 18 May 2000 the Cornpany had been notified of the
follo,ving interess in iE Ordinary Shares of 30lo or more:
The Capital Grdp Companies, lnc. 37,127 ,310
&,4€3228
Janus Capital Corporation
Merill Lynch & Co, lnc. group of
companies including
Mercury Asset Managernent Limited 57 ,929,030
Prudential plc Aroup of companies 30,239,983
Putnam lm€stment Management, lnc. and
__nrelutnam
Advisory company, Inc.
3:il1ffi;.?,,:H,:l"rf.?';"13!8
V" oI
capital
held
4.71
5.14
ln keeping with the Groups goal of continuing to develop an
open and two-way communication process, the Chairman has
initiated a series of all+mplqpe communications. ln additron,
an +mail baed process has been deeloped to encourage dircct
feedback to indMdual employees on their questions regarding
the Groups policies and busines isues.
lnformation on share options granted to emplqlees is gtwn in
Note 25(ii) on page 63.
Supplier payment poliqy
The Company negotiates payment terms with ib suppliers on
an indMdual bais, with the normal spread being payment at the
end of the month folloruing delirery plus 30 or 60 day5. lt is the
Companys policy to settle the terms of payment wtren agreeinq
the terms of each transaction, to ensure that the suppliers are
made aware of the terms, and to abide by them.
The number of days' purchases outstanding at 31 March 2000
is calculated at 24 days (1999: 18 days).
Charitable and politi@l contributions
charitable, sponsorship and fund-raising activities canied out
during the year within the Group contribr"rted some f 1.7m
(1999: f2.8m) to charitable organisations and communities
aound the uorld. These included UK charitable donations
amounting to f0.5m (1999: fl.7m). No political contributions
were made (1999: fnil).
7 .35
3.83 Research and development
Research and darelopment is the responsibility of the Groups
on research and
?8:#iture