Half Yearly Report

RNS Number : 8702O

RWS Holdings PLC

02 June 2015

 

RWS GROUP

For immediate release                                                                                                               2 June 2015

RWS Holdings plc ("the Group")

Half year report for the six months to 31 March 2015

Solid performance from core business

RWS Holdings plc (RWS), the world's leading provider of intellectual property support services (patent translations, searches and international patent filing solutions), and commercial translations, today announces its half year results for the six months ended 31 March 2015.

Financial Highlights:

·          Sales for the period £45.4m (H1 2014: £46.9m)

○      Sales on a constant currency basis were £46.9m (H1 2014: £46.9m)

·          Adjusted profit before tax* was flat at £10.8m (H1 2014: £10.8m)

·          Adjusted earnings per share* was up by 3% at 3.9p (H1 2014: 3.8p), after 5 for 1 share split

·          Interim dividend increased by 5% to 1.03p (H1 2014: 0.98p), after 5 for 1 share split

·          Net cash at period end £21.5m (H1 2014: £14.9m)

* before amortization of intangibles, and share option costs

Operational Highlights:

·          Solid revenues in the core patent translations business on a constant currency basis:

                 ○      Further growth in China and progress in Japan

                 ○      Strong pipeline of new clients; longer than normal lead times for conversion to sale

·           Commercial translation business was up 2% on a constant currency basis reflecting growth in Germany partially      offset by lower revenues in the UK in light of an increasingly competitive environment

·          Information search revenues reverted to normal patterns after exceptionally strong H1 2014

·          PatBase subscription revenues increased by 7%

·          Intellectual property support services now account for 83% of Group revenues

·          Awarded Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade 2015, the Group's fifth award in this category

·          Continued investment in the Group:

o  Further expansion of Chinese production and university training initiative

o  Increased investment in global sales resource

o  Increased usage of translation technology to maintain margins

o  Further development of patent translation team in German business

Current Trading and Outlook:

·         Trading in the first two months of H2 is in line with our expectations, at a similar level to  that seen in the first      half, with continuing currency impact and a subdued trading performance at inovia

·        Progress and focus remains on consolidation of service offerings and platform developments to prepare for  increased structural integration of inovia into the Group in the next full year

·        Additional investment into worldwide sales resource and our production capability in China

·        Pipeline of opportunities remains encouraging, particularly in patent translations

·         Net estimated Euro trading exposure hedged at an average rate of 1 Euro = 81p until 31 December 2015.    Exposure to the US$ has been hedged at 1 GBP = US$1.57 from 1 June to 30 September 2015

Andrew Brode, Executive Chairman of RWS, commented:

"The Group has produced a solid performance during the half year despite some challenging trading conditions, most notably the impact of significant currency headwinds driven by the strength of sterling.

"We have an encouraging pipeline of opportunities, particularly in patent translations. We have a number of initiatives in place to consolidate services and technology platforms to integrate inovia further and expand inovia's sales activities in new markets and we are investing in additional global sales resource to drive top line performance in future periods."

"Our financial position remains strong, underpinning our progressive dividend policy and leaving us well placed to build upon our leading share of the global intellectual property support services market."

For further information contact:

RWS Holdings plc

Andrew Brode, Chairman                                                                                                       01753 480200

MHP

Katie Hunt / Simon Hockridge                                                                                               020 3128 8100

Numis

Stuart Skinner / Kevin Cruickshank (Nominated Adviser)                                                         020 7260 1000

James Serjeant (Corporate Broker)

About RWS:

RWS is the world's leading provider of patent translations and one of the leading players in the provision of intellectual property support services and high level technical, medical, commercial, legal and financial translation services. Specialist divisions provide for the diverse needs of a blue-chip multinational client base from Europe, North America and Asia in the aerospace, automotive, chemical, defence, electronics, financial, insurance, legal, medical, pharmaceutical and telecommunications industries.  RWS is based in the UK, with offices in Europe, USA, Japan, China and Australia and is listed on AIM, the London Stock Exchange regulated market (RWS.L).

For further information please visit: www.rws.com

RWS GROUP

                                                                                                                                               2 June 2015

RWS Holdings plc

Half year report for the six months to 31 March 2015

Chairman's Statement

The Group has produced a solid performance during the half year despite some challenging conditions, most notably the impact of significant currency headwinds driven by the strength of sterling.

The core patent translations business maintained its market leading position, supported by existing and new clients and with continuing progress in China and Japan, albeit with longer lead times to convert significant new client wins.  Commercial translations in the UK, Germany and Switzerland retained their market share in the face of intensifying competition particularly in the UK.  Information search revenues reverted to normal levels after an exceptionally strong performance in the comparative period last year, whilst PatBase continued to expand its subscription revenues.  inovia's revenues were slightly lower during the period but we are taking a number of actions with the aim of returning the business to growth in the future.

We were delighted to be awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in International Trade 2015 - the fifth such award we have received.

Business Overview

RWS is the world's leading provider of patent translations and one of Europe's leading players in the provision of intellectual property support services and high level technical, medical, commercial, legal and financial translation services.  Its main business - patent translation - translates well over 70,000 patents and intellectual property related documents each year.  It has a blue chip multinational client base from Europe, North America and Asia, active in patent filing in the medical, pharmaceutical, chemical, aerospace, defence, automotive and telecoms industries, as well as patent agents acting on behalf of such clients.  The Group has three principal business activities: Translations, which accounts for almost 73% of sales and incorporates patent and commercial translation services; Information, which includes a comprehensive range of patent search, retrieval and monitoring services as well as PatBase, one of the world's largest searchable commercial patent databases, access to which is sold exclusively as a subscription service; and inovia, the largest non-law firm provider of international patent filing solutions globally.

Strategy

Our strategy is focused upon organic growth complemented by deploying our substantial cash holdings for selective acquisitions, providing they can be demonstrated to enhance shareholder value.  Organic growth is driven by increases in the worldwide patent filing activities of our existing and potential multinational clients, the growing demand for language services and our ability to increase our market share by winning new clients attracted by our leading position and reputation for outstanding quality, in an otherwise fragmented sector.  Our substantive portfolio of intellectual property support services, further enhanced through the acquisition of inovia, offers cross-selling opportunities and strengthens our position in the IP market.

In terms of acquisitive growth, we continue to search for suitable potential acquisitions in the intellectual property support services and high level commercial translation spaces.  We seek niche businesses capable of delivering well above industry average levels of profitability or highly complementary businesses capable of reinforcing our dominant position in intellectual property support services.

Results and Financial Review

Sales for the six months ended 31 March 2015 on a constant currency basis were £46.9m, in line with 2014.  On a statutory basis, they were £45.4m (H1 2014: £46.9m).

Profit before tax, amortization of intangibles and share option costs, was flat at £10.8m (H1 2014: £10.8m).  Adjusted diluted earnings per share showed a small increase at 3.9p (H1 2014: 3.8p), adjusted for the 5 for 1 share split in February 2015.

At 31 March 2015, shareholder funds reached £80.0m (H1 2014: £71.9m), of which net cash represented £21.5m (H1 2014: £14.9m; FY 2014: £22.5m).  The principal major cash outlays were the interim and final dividends for 2014, of £2.1m and £7.6m paid in July 2014 and February 2015, respectively.

Currency Effects and Hedging

Reported revenues were £1.5m lower than on a constant currency basis, as a result of a strong pound sterling.  The Group's principal exposure is to the Euro, and, more recently, to the US dollar.  The average conversion rate for the Euro was 75.9p = 1 Euro versus 83.1p in the first half of 2014.  For the US dollar, the average rate was 1.54 dollars = 1 pound versus 1.65 dollars in the first half of 2014.  The average rate for the Japanese yen was 181.6 = 1 pound versus 168.0 yen in the comparable period.

Looking forward, the Group has hedged its estimated net trading exposure to the Euro at 1 Euro = 81p for the period 1 June to 31 December 2015.  On the same estimated basis, exposure to the US dollar is hedged at 1 GBP = US$1.57 from 1 June to 30 September 2015.

Dividend

The Directors have approved an interim dividend of 1.03p per share, an increase of 5% over the 2014 interim dividend of 0.98p (adjusted for the 5 for 1 share split in February 2015) which will be paid on 24 July 2015 to those shareholders on the register on 26 June 2015.  This increase reflects the Group's strong financial base, the Board's confidence in the Group's market position and our commitment to a progressive dividend policy, which was stated at flotation in November 2003 and has been delivered upon every year since then.

Operating Review

Patent Translations

The Group's core patent translations business, which now accounts for approximately 56% of Group sales, recorded sales at constant currency of £26.4m (H1 2014: £26.3m), while reported sales were £25.3m.  This performance includes momentum from some 2014 client wins, further growth in China, a satisfactory performance in Japan in local currency terms, an increase in English into German work and organic growth from longer term clients, but was offset by a number of corporate clients scaling back spending in line with their focus on cost savings as well as a slower than expected conversion of new client wins into significant sales.

The Group has maintained its market leadership, servicing a worldwide blue-chip client base including many of the world's most active patent filers.  Our clients include 10 of the top 15 applicants at the World Intellectual Property Office and at the European Patent Office in 2014. 

Following the acquisition of inovia in September 2013, we have been concentrating on platform and product consolidation and technical development to make our filing services attractive to the Group's larger corporate accounts and new prospects. Following a phase of cross-selling with several client wins in particular in Europe and the US, further integration will combine the Group's services and sales teams, starting in the US (the largest market for intellectual property support services).

Our Japanese business has been successful in securing new client wins for Group services including European validations and PCT filing, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry.

China continues to attract North American and European patent filers seeking patent protection there, as a result of which our headcount in China has grown to 57 employees.  As first outlined in last year's review, we have continued to develop the production and training centre with two universities in Rizhao, which has caught the attention of the university in Xi'an where a similar centre has now been established.  The implementation of a Chinese patent search group, further training links and initiatives with IP firms and universities in other IP centres in China, coupled with the development of new technology driven production workflows, will enable the Group to build its presence and brand in China to increase local sales with an expanded sales force. 

inovia

inovia, which was fully acquired in late September 2013, accounted for 21% of Group sales.  In the first half of 2015, inovia achieved gross sales of £9.4m (H1 2014: £9.5m), in addition to generating significant translation revenues for the Group. We have made good progress in winning work from smaller corporates in the US following a highly professional marketing campaign albeit new client wins have largely replaced lower revenues from existing clients and progress in converting our pipeline of larger prospects into wins has been slow.

Following the removal of the inovia CEO role, new reporting lines and management structures have been implemented in conjunction with a schedule for full integration initiatives. Key projects which are underway include:

·    integrating inovia and RWS's client portal interfaces and linking inovia's portal into Group clients' intellectual property management systems;

·    introducing translation technology into inovia's technology platform to better facilitate large client wins;

·    fully integrating inovia and RWS's sales teams - the largest sales team in the US will be led by a new head of sales for North America while further regional sales teams will be set up in territories where inovia has no sales presence and little market penetration, including in Asia; and

·    further consolidation of suppliers and services, including more integrated pricing structures.

In October 2014 inovia was recognised as the leading foreign filing provider by Managing Intellectual Property magazine's annual ranking of the top Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) firms, further consolidating the Group's position as a leading provider of intellectual property support services. We are confident that we have put the structure in place to enable inovia to continue to build on its leading position and deliver growth for the wider Group.

Information

Our information business accounts for 6% of Group sales and achieved £3.0m in revenues during the half year (H1 2014: £3.1m).  This performance reflects several successful client wins as well as a good flow of regular work from a number of clients in the first half of this year whilst the first half of 2014 benefitted from exceptional order volumes from our largest search client which have now returned to normal levels. High margin revenues from PatBase subscriptions grew by 7%, reflecting the database's further market share gains as we continued to invest in searchability features and geographic coverage.

Commercial Translations

Sales of our commercial translations business, which accounts for approximately 17% of Group turnover, were up 2% on a constant currency basis to £8.2m (H1 2014: £8.0m) or slightly lower on a statutory basis at £7.7m due to adverse exchange rates.

The commercial translations business includes all of our non-patent translations activities and it remains the sector of our business most exposed to competition.  It operates in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.  Given the intensity of the competition, we continue to focus upon specialist niches and larger projects where the Group's resources and expertise can provide a competitive edge and we have had continued success with growing the volume of work delivered under certain European institutional contracts.  Our German-speaking activities grew by 12% (in constant currency) in the first half on the comparable period, continuing the improvement we started to see in the second half of last year.  However, this was partially offset by lower revenues in the UK where we have continued to see a highly competitive environment.  English into German patent translation volumes have grown significantly in the first half, assisted by our new into-German patent translation facility in the Berlin office which is progressing well and continues to increase volumes. Apart from adding resources and helping to develop new technology driven workflows to the Group, this production facility also balances cyclical work load effects in commercial translation activities.

Beyond translation activities, we have more than doubled the number of interpretation assignments undertaken in the first half compared to the same period a year ago.

The commercial translation business continues to provide good cross selling opportunities for the patent translation business.

Market and Regulatory Update

Patent Filing Statistics

In March, the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) published figures showing a 4.5% increase in the 2014 PCT filings to 214,500 (2013: 205,300).  The European Patent Office (EPO) also published figures in January showing the total number of European patent filings increased by 3.1% to 274,174 (2014: 265,690).  Both the WIPO and EPO figures established new records for numbers of filings. Chinese patent applications grew by 12.5% overall.

European Union Patent

We have in the past drawn the market's attention to the proposed European Union Patent ("the Unitary Patent") and its potential impact upon the Group's sales and profits.  Despite significant hurdles, the Unitary Patent has been making further progress.  However, it appears to be consensus now that the earliest implementation would be in 2016 and that this is still optimistic.  The impending UK referendum on EU membership adds new uncertainties both on the timeline and, should the UK withdraw, the overall benefits of the Unitary Patent. In addition, there has been a further delay in finalising fee structures. Professional opinion remains highly sceptical regarding jurisdiction. It should also be noted that a number of member states of the current European Patent system are not EU members and that certain EU members continue to oppose the Unitary Patent.  At this stage we still anticipate minimal loss of revenues in the first few years after the introduction of the Unitary Patent.

People

As always, RWS depends upon its staff and their ongoing commitment to providing and maintaining the high levels of service our clients expect.  Headcount has now reached 615 full time equivalents (2014: 590), and I thank them for their contribution to the Group's continuing market leadership.

Current Trading and Outlook

We have seen trading performance in the first two months of the second half of the year in line with our expectations, at a similar level to that seen in the first half, held back by the continued strength of sterling and a subdued trading performance at inovia.

We have an encouraging pipeline of opportunities, particularly in patent translations, we are taking action to integrate inovia further and we are investing in additional sales resource to drive top line performance in future periods.

Our financial position remains strong and we are well placed to build upon our leading share of the global intellectual property support services market.

Andrew Brode

Chairman

2 June 2015

RWS Holdings plc

      Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

___________________________________________________________________________________

			Unaudited 6 months ended		Audited Year ended		Unaudited 6 months ended
			31 March 2015		30 September 2014		31 March 2014
		Note	£'000		£'000		£'000
Revenue		2	45,378		93,556		46,889
Cost of sales			(27,732)		(56,783)		(28,257)
Gross profit			17,646		36,773		18,632
Administrative expenses			(8,510)		(17,187)		(8,941)
Operating profit			9,136		19,586		9,691
Analysed as: Operating profit before charging:			10,403		22,036		10,951
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks			(817)		(1,572)		(792)
Share based payment costs			(450)		(878)		(468)
Operating profit			9,136		19,586		9,691
Finance income			419		57		39
Finance expense			-		(14)		(144)
Net finance income/(expense)		3	419		43		(105)
Profit before tax			9,555		19,629		9,586
Taxation expense			(2,295)		(4,430)		(2,490)
Profit for the period Other comprehensive income*			7,260		15,199		7,096
Exchange gain/(loss) on retranslation of foreign operations			1,472		(618)		(757)
Total other comprehensive income/(expense)			1,472		(618)		(757)
Total comprehensive income			8,732		14,581		6,339
Total comprehensive income attributable to:  Owners of the parent			8,732		14,581		6,339
					** restated		**restated
Basic earnings per Ordinary share (pence per share)	5		3.4	7.2		3.3
Diluted earnings per Ordinary share (pence per share)	5		3.4	7.1		3.3

*Other comprehensive income includes only items that will be subsequently reclassified to Profit before tax when specific conditions are met.

** Earnings per share for the year ended 30 September 2014 and the prior interim period of 31 March 2014 have been restated to reflect the sub division of shares (see note 4)

RWS Holdings plc

      Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position

_______________________________________________________________________________________

		Unaudited at	Audited at	Unaudited at
		31 March 2015	30 September 2014	31 March 2014
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000
Assets
Non-current assets
Goodwill		31,704	30,512	29,842
Intangible assets		7,730	8,228	8,956
Property, plant and equipment		17,926	17,310	17,411
Deferred tax assets		353	353	269
		57,713	56,403	56,478
Current assets
Trade and other receivables		17,517	16,385	16,911
Foreign exchange derivatives		945	554	423
Cash and cash equivalents	6	21,467	22,479	14,905
		39,929	39,418	32,239
Total assets		97,642	95,821	88,717
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables		12,451	12,277	11,754
Income tax payable		2,461	2,198	2,461
Provisions		519	480	-
		15,431	14,955	14,215
Non-current liabilities
Other payables		30	30	-
Provisions		341	378	492
Deferred tax liabilities		1,841	2,024	2,155
		2,212	2,432	2,647
Total liabilities		17,643	17,387	16,862
Total net assets		79,999	78,434	71,855
Equity
Capital and reserves attributable to owners of the parent
Share capital		2,116	2,116	2,116
Share premium		3,583	3,583	3,583
Share based payment reserve		1,796	1,346	936
Reverse acquisition reserve		(8,483)	(8,483)	(8,483)
Foreign currency reserve		2,041	569	430
Retained earnings		78,946	79,303	73,273
Total equity		79,999	78,434	71,855

RWS Holdings plc

      Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

________________________________________________________________________________________

	Share capital £'000		Share premium £'000	Other reserves (see below) £'000	Retained earnings £'000	Total equity attributable to owners of the parent £'000
At 30 September 2013 (audited)	2,116		3,583	(6,828)	72,842	71,713
Profit for the period	-		-	-	7,096	7,096
Currency translation differences	-		-	(757)	-	(757)
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 31 March 2014	-		-	(757)	7,096	6,339
Dividends Credit arising on share based payment charges	- -		- -	- 468	(6,665) -	(6,665) 468
At 31 March 2014 (unaudited)	2,116		3,583	(7,117)	73,273	71,855
Profit for the period	-		-	-	8,103	8,103
Currency translation differences	-		-	139	-	139
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 30 September 2014	-		-	139	8,103	8,242
Dividends	-		-	-	(2,073)	(2,073)
Credit arising on share based payment charges	-		-	410	-	410
At 30 September 2014 (audited)	2,116		3,583	(6,568)	79,303	78,434
Profit for the period	-		-	-	7,260	7,260
Currency translation differences	-		-	1,472	-	1,472
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 31 March 2015	-		-	1,472	7,260	8,732
Dividends	-		-	-	(7,617)	(7,617)
Credit arising on share based payment charges	-		-	450	-	450
At 31 March 2015 (unaudited)	2,116		3,583	(4,646)	78,946	79,999
Other reserves		Share based payment reserve £'000		Reverse acquisition reserve £'000	Foreign currency reserve £'000	Total  other reserves £'000
At 30 September 2013 (audited)		468		(8,483)	1,187	(6,828)
Currency translation differences		-		-	(757)	(757)
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 31 March 2014 Credit arising on share based payment charges		- 468		- -	(757) -	(757) 468
At 31 March 2014 (unaudited)		936		(8,483)	430	(7,117)
Currency translation differences		-		-	139	139
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 30 September 2014		-		-	139	139
Credit arising on share based payment charges		410		-	-	410
At 30 September 2014 (audited)		1,346		(8,483)	569	(6,568)
Currency translation differences		-		-	1,472	1,472
Other Comprehensive income for the period at 31 March 2015		-		-	1,472	1,472
Credit arising on share based payment charges		450		-	-	450
At 31 March 2015 (unaudited)		1,796		(8,483)	2,041	(4,646)

      RWS Holdings plc

      Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

      _________________________________________________________________________________-_____

		Unaudited 6 months ended 31 March 2015	Audited Year ended 30 September 2014	Unaudited 6 months ended 31 March 2014 restated
	Note	£'000	£'000	£'000
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit before tax Adjustments for:		9,555	19,629	9,586
Depreciation of property, plant and equipment		398	599	328
Amortization of intangible assets		844	1,632	792
Share based payment costs		450	878	468
Finance income		(419)	(57)	(39)
Finance expense		-	14	144
Operating cash flow before movements
in working capital and provisions		10,828	22,695	11,279
(Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables		(1,125)	64	(291)
Increase/(decrease) in trade and other payables		175	503	(81)
Cash generated from operations		9,878	23,262	10,907
Income tax paid		(2,215)	(5,239)	(2,770)
Net cash inflow from operating activities		7,663	18,023	8,137
Cash flows from investing activities Interest received		26	108	89
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		(1,015)	(4,919)	(4,737)
Purchases of intangibles (computer software)		(16)	(78)	(8)
Net cash outflow from investing activities		(1,005)	(4,889)	(4,656)
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid	4	(7,617)	(8,738)	(6,665)
Net cash outflow from financing activities		(7,617)	(8,738)	(6,665)
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(959)	4,396	(3,184)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period		22,479	18,305	18,305
Exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents		(53)	(222)	(216)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period	6	21,467	22,479	14,905
Free cash flow
Analysis of free cash flow
Net cash generated from operating activities		9,878	23,262	10,907
Net interest received		26	108	89
Income tax paid		(2,215)	(5,239)	(2,770)
Purchases of property, plant and equipment		(1,015)	(4,919)	(4,737)
Purchases of intangibles (computer software}		(16)	(78)	(8)
Free cash flow		6,658	13,134	3,481

RWS Holdings plc

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

_______________________________________________________________________

1    Accounting policies

      Basis of preparation

      The interim financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 1 June 2015. The interim results for the half years ended 31 March 2015 and 31 March 2014 are neither audited nor reviewed by our auditors and the accounts in this interim report do not therefore constitute statutory accounts in accordance with Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. They do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 30 September 2014.

      The Group's statutory accounts for the year ended 30 September 2014 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified, did not contain any statements under s498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006 and did not contain any matters to which the auditors drew attention without qualifying their report.

      The same accounting policies, presentation and methods of computation are followed in these condensed consolidated financial statements as were applied in the Group's latest annual audited financial statements.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2    Segmental reporting

      The Group comprises three principal divisions:

·    Translation division (for management reporting analysed between UK and Overseas operations) providing patent and technical document translation, filing and localisation services in the UK, USA, Europe, Japan and China.

·    inovia division, a leading provider of web based international filing solutions.

·    Information division, which offers a full range of patent search, retrieval and monitoring services as well as an extremely comprehensive patent database service accessible by subscribers, known as PatBase.

      The unallocated segment relates to corporate overheads, assets and liabilities.

      The segment results for the six months ended 31 March 2015 are as follows:

				Translations UK £'000	Translations Overseas £'000	inovia £'000	Information £'000	Unallocated £'000	Group £'000
Revenue
Patent translation				23,313	2,000	-	-	-	25,313
Commercial translation				4,917	2,827	-	-	-	7,744
inovia				-	-	9,353	-	-	9,353
Information				-	-	-	2,968	-	2,968
Total Revenue				28,230	4,827	9,353	2,968	-	45,378
Operating profit/(loss) before charging:				7,858	1,093	254	1,528	(330)	10,403
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks				(745)	-	-	(72)	-	(817)
Share based payment costs				(161)	(59)	-	-	(230)	(450)
Operating profit/(loss)				6,952	1,034	254	1,456	(560)	9,136
Finance income									419
Profit before tax									9,555
Taxation									(2,295)
Profit for the period									7,260
Overseas intercompany sales to the UK amounting to £2.8 million are eliminated on consolidation.
Segment assets			77,168		6,285	5,372	7,700	1,117	97,642
Segment liabilities			7,678		1,562	3,914	3,616	873	17,643
Net assets			69,490		4,723	1,458	4,084	244	79,999

RWS Holdings plc

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

______________________________________________________________________

The segment results for the year ended 30 September 2014 were as follows:

				Translations	Translations
				UK	Overseas	inovia	Information	Unallocated	Group
				£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue
Patent translation				47,738	4,288	-	-	-	52,026
Commercial translation				10,502	5,499	-	-	-	16,001
inovia				-	-	19,373	-	-	19,373
Information				-	-	-	6,156	-	6,156
Total Revenue				58,240	9,787	19,373	6,156	-	93,556
Operating profit/(loss) before charging:				16,383	2,175	967	3,135	(624)	22,036
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks				(1,429)	-	-	(143)	-	(1,572)
Share based payments costs				(320)	(117)	-	19	(460)	(878)
Operating profit/(loss)				14,634	2,058	967	3,011	(1,084)	19,586
Finance income									57
Finance  expense									(14)
Profit before tax									19,629
Taxation									(4,430)
Profit for the year									15,199
Overseas intercompany sales to the UK amounting to £4.8 million were eliminated on consolidation.
Segment assets				70,247	5,739	5,448	6,148	8,239	95,821
Segment liabilities				6,851	1,893	2,881	2,709	3,053	17,387
Net assets				63,396	3,846	2,567	3,439	5,186	78,434

The segment results for the six months ended 31 March 2014 were as follows:

				Translations	Translations
				UK	Overseas	inovia	Information	Unallocated	Group
				£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Revenue
Patent translation				24,139	2,186	-	-	-	26,325
Commercial translation				5,281	2,701	-	-	-	7,982
inovia				-	-	9,520	-	-	9,520
Information				-	-	-	3,062	-	3,062
Total Revenue				29,420	4,887	9,520	3,062	-	46,889
Operating profit/(loss) before charging:				8,694	784	390	1,436	(353)	10,951
Amortization of customer relationships and trademarks				(768)	-	-	(24)	-	(792)
Share based payment costs				(160)	(59)	-	(19)	(230)	(468)
Operating profit/(loss)				7,766	725	390	1,393	(583)	9,691
Finance income									39
Finance expense									(144)
Profit before tax									9,586
Taxation									(2,490)
Profit for the period									7,096
Overseas intercompany sales to the UK amounting to £2.4 million were eliminated on consolidation.
Segment assets				70,609	5,551	4,513	7,673	371	88,717
Segment liabilities				6,389	1,413	3,349	2,731	2,980	16,862
Net assets/(liabilities)				64,220	4,138	1,164	4,942	(2,609)	71,855

RWS Holdings plc

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

______________________________________________________________________

3    Finance income and expense

			6 months ended			Year ended			6 months ended
			31 March 2015			30 September 2014			31 March 2014
			£'000			£'000			£'000
Finance income
- Returns on short-term deposits			28			57			39
- Movement in the fair value of foreign currency contracts			391			-			-
Finance expense
- Interest on deferred consideration relating to an acquisition			-			(1)			-
- Movement in the fair value of foreign currency contracts			-			(13)			(144)
Net finance income				419			43		(105)

4    Dividends

			6 months ended		Year ended		6 months ended
			31 March 2015		30 September 2014		31 March 2014
			pence		* pence		* pence
			per share	£'000	per share restated	£'000	per share restated	£'000
Interim paid July			-	-	0.98	2,073	-	-
Final paid February			3.60	7,617	3.15	6,665	3.15	6,665
Dividends paid to shareholders			3.60	7,617	4.13	8,738	3.15	6,665
At the RWS Holdings plc AGM on 10 February 2015, shareholders approved a resolution to subdivide the Company's existing shares so that each 5p Ordinary share was subdivided into 5 Ordinary shares of 1p each.  These new 1p shares were admitted for trading on the London Stock Exchange on 11 February 2015.       * The dividend payment per share has been restated for prior periods to reflect the share split.       An interim dividend of 1.03 pence per Ordinary share will be paid on 24 July 2015 to Shareholders on the register at 26 June 2015.  This dividend, declared by the Directors after the balance sheet date, has not been recognised in these financial statements as a liability at 31 March 2015.  The interim dividend will reduce shareholders' funds by an estimated £2.2 million.

RWS Holdings plc

Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (continued)

______________________________________________________________________

5    Earnings per Ordinary share

The Group shows both a basic and adjusted earnings per share figure as the Directors believe that this information will be of interest to the users of the accounts in measuring the Group's performance and underlying trends.

			6 months ended			Year ended		6 months ended
			31 March 2015			30 September 2014		31 March 2014
			Earnings		EPS	Earnings	EPS	Earnings	EPS
			£'000		Pence	£'000	* Pence restated	£'000	* Pence restated
Profit for the period			7,260		3.4	15,199	7.2	7,096	3.3
Post tax adjustments
Amortization of customer relationships
and trademarks			654		0.3	1,242	0.6	626	0.3
Charges for share based payments			360		0.2	694	0.3	370	0.2
Adjusted earnings			8,274		3.9	17,135	8.1	8,092	3.8
Basic diluted earnings			7,260		3.4	15,199	7.1	7,096	3.3
Adjusted diluted earnings			8,274		3.9	17,135	8.0	8,092	3.8
Basic earnings per share are based on the post-tax profit for the period and a weighted average number of Ordinary shares in issue during the period.

			Number of shares		* Number of shares		* Number of shares
			6 months ended		Year ended		6 months ended
			31 March 2015		30 September 2014		31 March 2014
Weighted average number of Ordinary
shares in issue for basic earnings			211,579,840		211,579,840		211,579,840
Dilutive impact of share options			1,584,941		2,053,790		2,229,190
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares for diluted earnings			213,164,781		213,633,630		213,809,030

      * The number of shares and the earnings per share for prior periods have been restated to reflect the subdivision of shares (see note 4).

___________________________________________________________________________________________________-________

6  Cash and cash equivalents	at		at		at
	31 March 2015		30 September 2014		31 March 2014
	£'000		£'000		£'000
Cash at bank and in hand	17,798		12,990		13,205
Short-term deposits	3,669		9,489		1,700
Cash and cash equivalents in the cash
flow statement	21,467		22,479		14,905

Short-term deposits includes deposits with a maturity of three months or less, or deposits that can be readily converted into cash. The fair value of these assets supports their carrying value.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7    Events since the reporting date

      No significant events have occurred since 31 March 2015 at the date of authorisation of these financial statements.

 

END

 

 

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