Notes to the financial statements - Plasmon

Directors’ report
for the year ended 31 March 2003
The Directors present their report together with the audited financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2003.
Activities, business review and product development
Plasmon Plc is the holding company of a group of companies involved
in professional data storage solutions. The Group is active in the
development, manufacture and selling of both optical disk and
magnetic tape data storage systems. The Group operates principally
in the UK and USA but also has operations in Belgium, France,
Germany and Italy.
A review of the Group’s activities and its future development is
contained on pages 1 to 16. During the year, £10,139,000
(2002: £11,408,000) was spent on development of which £6,495,000
(2002: £5,246,000) related to the UDO drive and media programme.
Results for the year
The Group made a loss of £3,406,000 (2002 loss: £5,757,000) after
taxation and no dividends have been declared.
Annual General Meeting
Notice of the Annual General Meeting is enclosed together with a form
of proxy.
Share capital
Changes in the share capital of the Company are detailed on page 41.
Directors and their interests
The present Directors are listed on page 17 and their beneficial
interests in the shares of the Company are given on pages 21 and 22.
Re-election
John Barrie Morgans is due to retire by rotation at the forthcoming
Annual General Meeting and, being eligible, offers himself for reelection.
Charitable and political contributions
The Group has made no charitable or political contributions during the
year.
Substantial shareholdings
As at 27 May 2003, the following had notified the Company of interest
in 3% or more of the ordinary share capital of the Company:
Ordinary shares
Number %
Amvescap Plc and subsidiary companies 8,370,628 15.46
Global Asset Management Ltd 5,195,000 9.60
Herald Investment Trust plc 3,350,000 6.19
BriTel Fund Nominees Ltd
The Trustees of the BT Pension Scheme 2,760,321 5.10
Possfund Nominees Ltd
Post Office Pension Trustees 2,088,755 3.86
The family interests of JP Lobbenberg 1,893,852 3.50
Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc 1,675,290 3.09
Legal & General Group Plc 1,637,000 3.02
Employees
The Group’s policy is to consult and discuss with employees those
matters likely to affect employees’ interests. These meetings also seek
to achieve a common awareness on the part of all employees of the
financial and economic factors affecting the Group’s performance. The
employee share scheme encourages the involvement of employees in
the Group’s performance.
Plasmon Plc
Annual Report 2003
Directors’ report
23
It is the policy of the Group that disabled people, whether registered or
not, should receive full and fair consideration for all job vacancies for
which they are suitable applicants. Employees who become disabled
during their working life will be retained in employment wherever
possible and will be given help with any necessary rehabilitation and
retraining. The Group is prepared to modify procedures and
equipment, wherever this is practicable, so that full use can be made
of an individual’s abilities. Training, career development and promotion
are, as far as practicable, identical for all employees according to their
skills and abilities.
Creditor payment policy
The Group’s current policy concerning the payment of creditors for
revenue and capital suppliers for goods and services is as follows:
• to pay in accordance with its contractual and legal obligations;
• wherever it is reasonable to do so, to settle the terms of payments
with those suppliers when agreeing terms for each transaction and
to ensure that those suppliers are made aware of the terms of
payments by their inclusion in the relevant contracts.
Creditor days for the Company and Group at 31 March 2003 were 43
and 49, respectively (2002: 14 and 54) as calculated in accordance
with the Companies Act 1985.
Statement of Directors’ responsibilities
The Directors are required by UK company law to prepare financial
statements for each financial year that give a true and fair view of the
state of affairs of the Company and the Group as at the end of the
financial year and of the profit or loss of the Group for that period.
The Directors confirm that suitable accounting policies have been
applied consistently, and reasonable and prudent judgements and
estimates have been made in the preparation of the financial
statements for the year ended 31 March 2003. The Directors also
confirm that applicable accounting standards have been followed and
that the financial statements have been prepared on the going
concern basis.
The Directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records,
for taking reasonable steps to safeguard the assets of the Company
and the Group, and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregular
activities.
The maintenance and integrity of the Group’s websites are the
responsibility of the Directors. Legislation in the United Kingdom
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements
may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Auditors
Following the conversion of our auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers to a
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) from 1 January 2003,
PricewaterhouseCoopers resigned on 30 January 2003 and the
Directors appointed its successor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, as
auditors.
A resolution to reappoint PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as auditors to
the Company will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
By order of the board
T Arthur
Company Secretary
28 May 2003