Financial Statements - Chemring Group PLC

C H E M R I N G G R O U P P L CDirectors’ Reportfor the year ended 31 October 2003Your directors present the financialstatements of the Group for the yearended 31 October 2003.Principal ActivitiesThe principal activities of the Group arethe design, manufacture and sale ofcountermeasures, military pyrotechnics,and marine safety and security products.Review of the Yearand ResultsA review of the year can be found inthe Chairman’s Statement, theChief Executive’s Review and theFinance Director’s Review on pages 3 to 10.DividendsThe directors recommend a final dividendof 4.85p per ordinary share, whichtogether with the interim dividend of2.55p per ordinary share paid inSeptember 2003, gives a total for the yearof 7.40p (2002: 6.70p).Directors and their InterestsThe present directors are shown onpage 11.Mr K C Scobie andGeneral Sir John Stibbon will be retiringby rotation at the forthcoming AnnualGeneral Meeting and will be offeringthemselves for re-election. The detailsof their service contracts with theCompany are set out in theDirectors’ Remuneration Reporton pages 14 to 18.None of the directors had a beneficialinterest in any contract of significance towhich the Group was a party during theyear to 31 October 2003.Information required as to directors’shareholdings is set out in theDirectors’ Remuneration Report.Substantial ShareholdersAt 2 February 2004 the followinginterests in the ordinary share capital ofthe Company exceeding 3% had beennotified to the Company under theprovisions of section 198 of theCompanies Act 1985:NameDeutsche Bank AGStandard Life GroupPrudential Corporation PLCLegal & General InvestmentManagementEmployeesThe Group pursues a policy of employeecommunication through meetings(including team briefings and workscouncils) and in-house magazines bywhich employees are made aware of theprogress of the Group and the companiesin which they work.The Group employs disabled personswherever circumstances permit, and fulland fair consideration is given toapplications for employment by disabledpersons having regard to their particularaptitudes and disabilities. Disabledpersons in employment receive equaltreatment to that afforded to otheremployees.Environment%Interest13.811.65.84.3The Group recognises that environmentalissues are of fundamental importance to asuccessful and responsible businessstrategy, and it is committed, through aprocess of continual improvement, tominimising the environmental impact ofits operations. In line with thiscommitment, the Group’s businessesare striving towards:■ designing and developing productswhich have the minimal environmentalimpact during their manufacture, useand subsequent disposal■ minimising energy usage and wastewherever practicable■ reusing or recycling materialswherever practicable■ purchasing goods and services fromenvironmentally responsible suppliers■ monitoring progress on environmentalmatters using external and internalauditing.Charitable and PoliticalDonationsCharitable donations amounting to£3,650 (2002: £2,440) were madeduring the year. No political donationswere made during the year (2002: £nil).Policy on Payment ofSuppliersIt is the policy of the Group that each ofthe Group companies should agreeappropriate terms and conditions for itstransactions with suppliers. These willrange from standard written terms toindividually negotiated contracts.Creditor days as at 31 October 2003amounted to 78 days (2002: 61 days).The Chemring 1998Executive Share OptionSchemeOn 5 February 2003, options weregranted over 100,000 ordinary shares tosenior employees of the Group.Additional information is set out inNote 23.P 12