Notes to the Company financial statements
for the year ended 31 March 2009
| 11. Dividends |
| 12. Financial Instruments |
| 13. Pensions |
| 14. Commitments and Contingencies |
| 15. Related Party Transactions |
| 16. Approval of Financial Statements |
31 March 2009 |
31 March 2008 |
|
| Ordinary Shares: | ||
| Final dividend of 3.95 cent (2008 – 3.59 cent) | 7,868 | 8,343 |
| Interim dividend of 2.28 cent (2008 – 1.82 cent) | 4,548 | 4,235 |
| 12,416 | 12,578 |
It is intended that a final dividend in respect of the financial year ended 31 March 2009 in the amount of 4.94 cent per share will be proposed by the Directors and, if approved by the shareholders at the Company’s Annual General Meeting, to be held on 10 September 2009, will be paid on 15 September 2009.
Exposure to credit risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and liquidity risk arises in the normal course of the Company’s business.
Credit risk
Management has a credit policy in place and the exposure to credit risk
is monitored on an ongoing basis. Credit evaluations are performed on all
customers requiring credit over a certain amount.
At the balance sheet date there were no significant concentrations of credit risk. The maximum exposure to credit risk is represented by the carrying amount of each financial asset in the balance sheet.
Interest rate risk
The objective of the interest rate management policy is to protect the
Company’s debt from adverse changes in interest rates which, if they occurred,
would have a material impact on cash flow and reported annual profits.
Foreign currency risk
The Company has various policies and procedures in place to manage its
foreign currency risk.
Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its
financial obligations as they fall due. The Company’s approach to managing
liquidity is to ensure, as far as possible, that it will always have
sufficient liquidity to meet its liabilities when due, both under normal
and stressed conditions, without incurring unacceptable losses or risking
damage to the Company’s reputation.
Sensitivity analysis
In managing interest rate and currency risks, the Company aims to reduce
the impact of short-term fluctuations on the Company’s earnings. Over
the long term, however, permanent changes in foreign exchange and interest
rates would have an impact on consolidated earnings.
At 31 March 2009, it is estimated that a general increase of one percentage point in interest rates would not have a material effect on the Company’s earnings.
It is estimated that a general increase of one percentage point in the value of the euro against other foreign currencies would reduce the Company’s profit before tax by e2.5 million (2008: e Nil).
Credit risk
Maximum exposure to credit risk for trade receivables and unbilled debtors
at reporting date by geographic region:
31 March 2009 |
31 March 2008 |
|
| Domestic | 59 | 83 |
Maximum exposure to credit risk for trade receivables and unbilled debtors at reporting date by customer type:
31 March 2009 |
31 March 2008 |
|
| Wholesale customers | 59 | 83 |
All trade receivables at 31 March 2009 and 31 March 2008 were not past due for payment. No allowance for impairment has been provided at 31 March 2009 or 31 March 2008.
Liquidity risk
The following are contractual maturities of the Company’s financial liabilities,
including interest payments and excluding the impact of netting arrangements:
Non-derivative financial liabilities
Carrying €’000 |
Contractual cash flows |
Less than 6 Monthsl |
|
| At 31 March 2009 | |||
| Trade and other payables | 24,608 | 24,608 | 24,608 |
| Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings | 212,069 | 212,069 | 212,069 |
| Total | 236,677 | 236,677 | 236,677 |
Carrying €’000 |
Contractual cash flows |
Less than 6 Monthsl |
|
| At 31 March 2008 | |||
| Trade and other payables | 40,213 | 40,213 | 40,213 |
| Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings | 202,180 | 202,180 | 202,180 |
| Total | 242,393 | 242,393 | 242,393 |
The Company had no derivative financial liabilities at 31 March 2009 or 31 March 2008.
Effective interest rate and re-pricing analysis
In respect of income earning financial assets and interest-bearing financial
liabilities, the following table indicates their effective interest rates
at the balance sheet date.
Effective |
Total |
6 months or less |
|
31 March 2009 Cash and cash equivalents |
|||
| Bank balances | 0.1% | 1,731 | 1,731 |
Effective |
Total |
6 months or less |
|
31 March 2008 Cash and cash equivalents |
|||
| Bank balances | 0.4% | 3,035 | 3,035 |
There is no significant difference between the fair value of the Company’s financial asset and liabilities and their carrying values.
The Company operates defined contribution schemes for certain employees and executive directors. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Group independently administrated funds.
Pension costs for the year €908,000 (2008: €3,533,000) and the amount due to the schemes at 31 March 2009 amounted to €89,000 (2008: e Nil).
14. Commitments and Contingencies
Guarantees
The Company has guaranteed certain liabilities of its subsidiary company facilities,
which are unsecured, as follows:
• €126.1 million in respect of wind turbine supply agreements for Wind Capital
Group;
• €61.6 million in respect of National Toll Roads Limited;
• €4.6 million in respect of Bioverda Limited;
• €50.3 million in respect of Greenstar UK;
• €11.5 million in respect of Greenstar North America;
• €4.0 million in respect of Celtic Anglian Water Limited.
These guarantee contracts are treated as a contingent liability until such time as it becomes probable that the Company will be required to make a payment under the guarantee.
Commitments and Contingencies
In addition to the guarantees mentioned above, a letter of comfort has
been given to Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania that NTR plc will maintain
Greenstar North America and Recycle Management Corporation LLC as solvent
entities.
Financial Commitments
The Company has entered into a commitment for an equity investment in
one of its unquoted investments not provided for in the financial statements
amounting to €3.0 million.
15. Related Party Transactions
During the year and prior year, the Company earned income from the following related parties (subsidiary companies of NTR plc), which resulted in the following amounts being charged/(credited) to the income statement:
31 March 2009 |
31 March 2008 |
||
| Greenstar Ireland | Management Charges | 6 | 7 |
| Bioverda | Management Charges | - | 93 |
| Wind Capital Ventures | Guarantee fees | 4,408 | - |
| Greenstar UK | Interest Receivable | - | 1,899 |
| Airtricity | Interest Receivable | - | 108 |
| Emerald Biodiesel | Interest Receivable | - | 826 |
| Firstroute | Dividend Receivable | 5,001 | - |
16. Approval of Financial Statements
The financial statements for the Company for the year ended 31 March 2009 were approved for issue by the Board of Directors on 16 July 2009.