AUDITED RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020

Science Group plc (the ‘Company’) together with its subsidiaries (‘Science Group’ or the ‘Group’) reports its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2020.

Summary

• Record revenue and adjusted operating profit, ahead of upgraded expectations
• Group revenue increased 29% to £73.7 million (2019: £57.2 million)
• Adjusted* operating profit increased by 62% to £10.9 million (2019: £6.7 million)
• Adjusted* basic earnings per share increased by 67% to 19.4 pence (2019: 11.6 pence)
• Successful integration and turnaround of Frontier Smart Technologies with strong profit contribution
• Group retains a strong balance sheet with significant cash resources and freehold property assets.
• Recommended dividend of 4.0 pence

Science Group plc

Martyn Ratcliffe, Chairman

Tel +44 (0) 1223 875200

www.sciencegroup.com

Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker)

Nick Adams, Alex Price

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7710 7600

Liberum Capital Limited (Joint Broker)

Neil Patel, Cameron Duncan

Tel: +44 (0) 20 3100 2000

* Alternative performance measures are provided in order to enhance the shareholders’ ability to evaluate and analyse the underlying financial performance of the Group. Refer to Note 1 for detail and explanation of the measures used.

Chairman’s Statement

Science Group is an international, science-led services and product development organisation with a significant freehold property asset base. Following the Frontier acquisition in 2019 and the natural evolution of the services operations, the Group now comprises three divisions: R&D Consultancy; Regulatory & Compliance; and Frontier Smart Technologies (‘Frontier’).

Notwithstanding a global pandemic, the Group achieved record results in 2020 benefitting from both its acquisition strategy and organic development which have combined to create a financially and operationally resilient organisation. Over the past decade, these acquisitions have been funded primarily from the Group’s existing cash resources without shareholder dilution. As a result, the issued share capital (excluding treasury shares) at 31 December 2020 is in line with December 2010 while revenue over the past decade has increased more than 3-fold and adjusted operating profit more than 4-fold, delivering significant value to shareholders.

Financial Summary

For the year ended 31 December 2020, Group revenue was £73.7 million (2019: £57.2 million), reflecting the full year contribution from Frontier. Group adjusted operating profit increased by 62% to £10.9 million (2019: £6.7 million) benefitting from the successful turnaround of the 2019 acquisition of Frontier Smart Technologies. Adjusted basic earnings per share increased by 67% to 19.4 pence (2019: 11.6 pence).

Amortisation of acquisition related intangibles and share based payment charge totalled £3.7 million (2019: £3.5 million) and as a result, the Group reported an operating profit of £7.1 million for the year (2019: operating loss of £0.2 million which included one-off costs and accounting adjustments arising from the acquisition of Frontier totalling £4.1 million). The Group reported profit before tax of £6.4 million (2019: loss of £1.6 million) and basic earnings per share of 16.9 pence (2019: loss of 4.5 pence).

Science Group continues to benefit from excellent cash conversion and a very strong balance sheet. At 31 December 2020, gross cash was £27.1 million (2019: £13.9 million) and net funds were £10.6 million (2019: net debt of £2.3 million). The Group’s bank debt at 31 December 2020 was £16.5 million (2019: £16.2 million) having been increased by an additional £1.5 million in May 2020. The Group’s bank debt is tied to interest rate swaps to produce a net fixed rate (effectively 3.5%) to 2026 and is secured on the Group's freehold property assets. Subject to net debt not exceeding £10 million, the bank debt is not subject to operating covenants.

Alternative performance measures are provided in order to enhance shareholders’ ability to evaluate and analyse the underlying financial performance of the Group. Adjusted operating profit and other Alternative Performance Measures used in this report are defined in the Finance Director’s Report. In the reporting and commentary below, following the division reconfiguration, the 2019 comparators have, where appropriate, been restated to align to the new structure.

R&D Consultancy

The R&D Consultancy division provides science-led advisory and product/technology development services. The division incorporates leading science and engineering capabilities combined with expertise in key vertical sectors, namely: Medical; Consumer; Food & Beverage; and Industrial. The division will now operate under a unified brand of Sagentia Innovation and reports through a single Managing Director.

In 2020, the medical sector performed well benefitting from participation in the UK Government’s urgent ventilator initiative early in the year. Other sectors and advisory services were more affected by the pandemic due to their shorter project durations and the discretionary nature of such activities.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, the R&D Consultancy division generated revenue of £32.2 million (2019: £30.6 million) including a significant increase of non-services (materials) pass-through revenue in H1 2020. During the second half of 2020, investment was increased in a number of areas, including senior sales & business managers, on the basis that the pandemic may have a prolonged effect, particularly on international travel. This investment has contributed to the division having a good start to the current year, particularly in the medical sector, and there is increasing optimism as clients reinvest in their businesses.

Regulatory & Compliance

The Regulatory & Compliance division provides scientific advice, registration and compliance of regulated products internationally and comprises the North American and European operations of TSG, acquired in 2017, together with Leatherhead Food Research, acquired in 2015. The European regulatory and compliance activities were further integrated in the second half of the year and now report to a single Managing Director.

The North American operations performed particularly well in 2020 due to increasing demand for regulatory services to approve pandemic-related products. In addition, the TSG America regulatory renewals activity continued to make good progress, building its recurring revenue base.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, with all business areas reporting organic growth, the Regulatory & Compliance division generated revenue of £20.1 million (2019: £18.1 million). Of this revenue around 26% is of a recurring nature, primarily within the Food & Beverage sector and the USA Renewals activities. Profit contribution from the division significantly improved in the year and the outlook for the Regulatory & Compliance division in 2021 remains positive.

Frontier Smart Technologies

Frontier Smart Technologies is the market leader in DAB/DAB+/SmartRadio technology chips and modules. Following the completion of the acquisition of Frontier in 2019, an accelerated restructuring/integration programme was successfully executed, including the closure of the Romanian operations, a streamlining of product lines and the relocation of the Cambridge and London operations, producing a substantial reduction in the operating cost base. This intense programme was completed just before the pandemic outbreak and positioned Frontier to weather the challenges in the first half and deliver an excellent second half performance.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, Frontier reported revenue of £20.5 million (2019: £7.5 million, in the post-acquisition period) and an adjusted operating profit margin in line with the services businesses.

Demand for digital consumer radio products in 2020 increased with initial indications suggesting a DAB market growth in the order of 10%. Demand also increased in SmartRadio (DAB + FM + Internet) with this higher end range accounting for a greater proportion of Frontier product shipments. The Frontier outlook for the current year is positive, subject to semiconductor component availability, and foreign exchange movements since Frontier sales are denominated in US Dollars.

Following the successful turnaround and integration, in January 2021 the Board announced that the future strategy for Frontier was to be reviewed, with three potential outcomes: (i) to retain the business within the Group; (ii) to increase operating scale through the merger or acquisition of a similar business or businesses; or (iii) to sell all or part of the business. The Board and the Frontier management team continue to consider all these alternatives with external advisers. The Board remains open minded as to the outcome and this process may take some time.

Freehold Properties

Science Group owns two freehold properties, Harston Mill near Cambridge and Great Burgh in Epsom. The last independent valuation in March 2018 indicated aggregate values of these properties in the range £22.6 million to £33.9 million. The properties are held on the balance sheet on a cost basis at £21.2 million (2019: £21.4 million). Great Burgh is owned by a property subsidiary of Science Group plc, which is the preferred structure. For legacy reasons, Harston Mill is currently owned by the trading company, Sagentia Limited, and it is the declared intention to address this anomaly. However, this action if/when effected will result in a tax payment outflow of approximately £2 million and was prudently deferred following the Covid-19 outbreak.

For the year ended 31 December 2020, the rental and associated services income derived from the Group’s freehold properties was £4.0 million (2019: £3.9 million), of which income of £0.8 million (2019: £1.0 million) was generated from third-party tenants and £3.2 million (2019: £2.9 million) from the Group’s operating businesses. Adjusted operating profit of £1.0 million (2019: £1.5 million) included an increased investment in refurbishing and upgrading the properties. Intra-group charges are eliminated on Group consolidation but the reported segmental profit of the operating divisions includes property rental at market rates.

The Group’s debt of £16.5 million at 31 December 2020 (2019: £16.2 million) is secured against the freehold property assets and the associated interest charge for the year was £0.6 million (2019: £0.6 million). Interest on the debt is reported below operating profit in the consolidated results.

Corporate

The corporate function is responsible for Group and PLC matters, together with the strategic development of Science Group. Corporate costs increased in the period to £2.4 million due to a number of one-off items (2019: £1.7 million).

As an acquisitive Group, the Board actively addresses corporate structures to ensure that (i) unnecessary administration is minimised (ii) tax losses can be utilised; and (iii) subsidiary dividend traps are avoided. In 2020, the Group closed 4 subsidiaries both in the UK and internationally and the legacy ownership structure of TSG Europe was also addressed to remove an anomalous minority equity shareholding via the USA business. In addition, capital restructurings of Frontier and another subsidiary (Sagentia Technology Advisory Limited) have been completed.

In the first half of 2020, the Group received £0.1 million under the UK Government furlough scheme. While very modest, this was an appropriately prudent action taken as part of a wider programme at a time of considerable uncertainty. In the light of the Group’s full year performance, the Board repaid the monies received under the furlough scheme in the second half.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Board withdrew the dividend for the year ended 31 December 2019 but paid an interim dividend of 2.0 pence per share in October 2020 when the performance of the Group was more apparent. However, while the dividend payment was reduced in 2020, in aggregate, including share buy-backs, £2.5 million (2019: £2.0 million) was returned to shareholders. The Board is recommending a dividend of 4.0 pence per share which, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting (‘AGM’), will be payable on 18 June 2021 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 21 May 2021.

During the year, the Company has repurchased 715,000 shares at a total cost of £1.7 million (2019: 98,000 shares at a cost of £0.2 million). As a result, after share option exercises, at 31 December 2020, shares in issue (excluding treasury shares held of 0.8 million) were 41.2 million (2019: 41.7 million excluding treasury shares held of 0.4 million).

Geopolitical Considerations, including Brexit

Brexit has not to date and is not envisaged to have a material effect on Science Group. The most significant impact is anticipated to be in the Regulatory and Compliance division in Europe and on balance, the net effect is anticipated to be positive as additional regulatory regimes create further opportunities. Within the R&D Consulting business there is expected to be some impact in countries which financially incentivise research and development work through EU-based entities, but this effect is not expected to be material to the Group.

By contrast, 33% of the Group’s business is derived from clients based in North America compared with 17% directly from Europe, and 57% of Group revenue is denominated in US dollars compared with 5% in Euros. As such, business/trading relations and the corresponding currency relationships with the USA are a far greater consideration for Science Group. For example, the average Sterling-US dollar exchange rate in 2019 was 1.28; in 2020 it was 1.29; and in February 2021 the average exchange rate was 1.39. Therefore, while monitoring the effect of Brexit is important, the new administration in the USA has potentially far greater impact on the Group’s business and operations.

Environmental, Social & Governance

The Group takes its responsibilities within the community and to the environment seriously. During the Covid pandemic, the Group has been particularly mindful of its social responsibilities and the impact on local communities. The Group made donations in the first UK lock-down to local foodbanks. In the second phase, the Group increased charitable donations and engaged employees across the world in recipient selection and donations were made to twelve charities, mainly foodbanks, across seven different countries.

Whilst the Group’s services in the main are based on intellectual capital and therefore do not directly impact the environment, within the Group’s offices and laboratory facilities the usage of energy, water and other resources is proactively managed. For example, the Group undertakes energy audits for major sites and implements suggestions as practicable; has adopted increased use of LED and motion-controlled lighting; and increasingly sources electricity in the UK (both Epsom and Harston) from renewable sources. Furthermore, in the latter half of 2020, the Group has also invested in electrical vehicle charging points at its major UK sites.

Summary

In summary, despite the challenges resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the performance of Science Group in 2020 has been very satisfactory, reflecting the portfolio nature of the Group balancing exposure to sectors, service/product lines and geographies. The resilient performance, achieved in an unprecedented environment, is a credit to the commitment and dedication of Science Group employees. The unusual circumstances, with minimal international travel and refocused marketing activities, also enabled the Board to invest in evolving the business operations to position for the inevitable longer-term change resulting from such a global event. As a result, the Board is optimistic for the continued progress of the Group in 2021, and has experienced a good start to the current year whilst remaining mindful of the ongoing economic uncertainty.

With a strong balance sheet including significant cash resources, the Board continues to cautiously explore both add-on acquisitions and larger opportunities to increase the scale of the Group. However, there can be no certainty that any transactions will satisfy the Board’s evaluation criteria and diligence process.

Martyn Ratcliffe

Chairman

Finance Director’s Report

Overview of results

In the year ended 31 December 2020, the Group generated revenue of £73.7 million (2019: £57.2 million) benefitting from the full year inclusion of Frontier following the acquisition during 2019 (in which 4 months’ trading was consolidated). Revenue from the services operating businesses, that is revenue derived from consultancy services and materials recharged on these projects, increased to £52.3 million (2019: £48.7 million) while product revenue generated by Frontier increased to £20.5 million (2019: £7.5 million). Revenue generated by freehold properties, comprising property and associated services income derived from space let to third parties in the Harston Mill facility, was £0.8 million (2019: £1.0 million).

Adjusted operating profit for the Group increased to £10.9 million (2019: £6.7 million, including the Frontier contributed loss of £1.3 million in the post-acquisition period). The Group’s statutory operating profit of £7.1 million (2019: loss of £0.2 million) includes the amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets and the share based payment charge totalling £3.7 million (2019: £3.5 million, in addition to one-off costs and accounting adjustments arising from the acquisition of Frontier totalling £4.1 million). The statutory profit before tax was £6.4 million (2019: loss before tax of £1.6 million) and statutory profit after tax was £7.0 million (2019: loss after tax of £1.8 million) which included a tax credit of £0.6 million (tax charge of £0.2 million). Statutory basic earnings per share (‘EPS’) was 16.9 pence (2019: loss per share of 4.5 pence, due to the Frontier one-off costs relating to the acquisition and integration).

Adjusted operating profit is an alternative profit measure that is calculated as operating profit excluding amortisation of acquisition related intangible assets, acquisition integration costs, share based payment charges and other specified items that meet the criteria to be adjusted. Refer to the notes to the financial statements for further information on this and other alternative performance measures.

Foreign exchange

A significant proportion of the Group’s revenue is denominated in US Dollars and Euros. Changes in exchange rates can have a significant influence on the Group’s financial performance. In 2020, £41.8 million of the Group operating business revenue was denominated in US Dollars (2019: £28.7 million), with all of Frontier revenue denominated in USD, and £3.6 million of the Group operating business revenue was denominated in Euros (2019: £3.6 million). The average exchange rate during 2020 was 1.29 for US dollars and 1.13 for Euros (2019: 1.28 and 1.14 respectively). To date, the Group has opted not to utilise foreign exchange hedging instruments but keeps this under review.

Taxation

The tax credit for the year was £0.6 million (2019: tax charge of £0.2 million) due to the recognition of brought forward tax losses in Frontier of £1.6 million of which £0.6 million was utilised in 2020 and the remainder will be utilised in future periods. Following the successful turnaround and Frontier’s profitability in 2020, there is greater certainty of the utilisation of these losses in the future and hence a proportion of the Frontier tax losses were recognised.

At 31 December 2020, Science Group had £31.7 million (2019: £34.7 million) of tax losses of which £21.4 million (2019: £24.0 million) relate to trading losses in Frontier. Of these Frontier losses, £3.2 million (2019: £nil) were utilised in 2020 and a further £5.3 million (2019: £nil) of losses were recognised as a deferred tax asset which are anticipated to be used to offset future trading profits. The carried forward Frontier losses of £16.1 million (2019: £24.0 million) have not been recognised as a deferred tax asset due to the uncertainty in the timing of utilisation of these losses. The other tax losses of £10.3 million (2019: £10.5 million) have not been recognised as a deferred tax asset due to the low probability that these losses will be able to be utilised.

Financing and cash

Cash flow from operating activities excluding Client Registration Funds (‘CRF’) was £17.2 million (2019: £5.4 million). Reported cash from operating activities in accordance with IFRS was £17.7 million (2019: £5.4 million). The difference in these two metrics relates to the fact that TSG, particularly in the USA, processes regulatory registration payments on behalf of clients. The alternative performance measures, adjusting for CRF, more accurately reflect the Group’s cash position and cash flow.

The Group’s term loan with Lloyds Bank plc, secured on the Group’s freehold properties, is a 10 year fixed term loan expiring in 2026. As a prudent measure, the loan was increased by £1.5 million (2019: £1.2 million) to the maximum level of £17.5 million on similar terms to those previously in place. Phased interest rate swaps hedge the loan resulting in a fixed effective interest rate of 3.5%, comprising a margin over 3 month LIBOR, the cost of the loan arrangement fee and the cost of the swap instruments. The term loan has no operating covenants as long as the Group net bank debt is less than £10 million. If this threshold is crossed, two conditions apply: (i) a financial covenant, measured half-yearly on a 12 month rolling basis, such that annual EBITDA must exceed 1.25 times annual debt servicing (capital and interest) and (ii) a security covenant whereby the loan to value (‘LTV’) ratio of the securitised properties must remain below 75%. If either of these conditions are breached, a remedy period of 6 months is provided, during which time the EBITDA or LTV condition can be remedied, or the net bank debt can be reduced to less than £10 million. The Group has adopted hedge accounting for the interest rate swap related to the bank loan under IFRS 9, Financial Instruments, and the loss on change in fair value of the interest rate swaps was £519,000 (2019: loss of £408,000) which was recognised in Other Comprehensive Income.

The Group cash balance (excluding CRF) at 31 December 2020 was £27.1 million (2019: £13.9 million) and net funds were £10.6 million (2019: net debt of £2.3 million). CRF of £2.0 million (2019: £1.5 million) were held at the year end. Working capital management during the year continued to be a focus with debtor days of 31 days at 31 December 2020 (2019: 32 days). Inventory days reduced to 43 days at 31 December 2020 (2019: 79 days), an exceptionally low level due to constraints in Frontier materials supply.

Share capital

At 31 December 2020, the Company had 41,238,392 ordinary shares in issue (2019: 41,700,440) and the Company held an additional 823,643 shares in treasury (2019: 361,595). Of the ordinary shares in issue, 104,400 (2019: 104,400) shares are held by the Employee Benefit Trust associated with the Frontier acquisition and hence the voting rights in the Company at 31 December 2020 are 41,133,992 (2019: 41,596,040). In this report, all references to measures relative to the number of shares in issue exclude shares held in treasury unless explicitly stated to the contrary.

Rebecca Archer

Finance Director