Aber Instruments Limited - Limited company accounts 23.2

REGISTERED NUMBER: 02213855 (England and Wales)

ABER INSTRUMENTS LIMITED

GROUP STRATEGIC REPORT,

REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS AND

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

30 JUNE 2023

Page

Company Information

1

Group Strategic Report

2

Report of the Directors

3

Report of the Independent Auditors

4

Consolidated Income Statement

7

Consolidated Other Comprehensive Income

8

Consolidated Balance Sheet

9

Company Balance Sheet

10

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

11

Company Statement of Changes in Equity

12

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

13

Notes to the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

14

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

15

DIRECTORS:

M P H Lee

T Pryce

J Turner

A R Bhat

D Anderson

REGISTERED OFFICE:

Unit 5 Science Park

Cefn Llan

Aberystwyth

Dyfed

SY23 3AH

REGISTERED NUMBER:

02213855 (England and Wales)

SENIOR STATUTORY AUDITOR:

Henry Lloyd-Davies

AUDITORS:

Bevan Buckland LLP

Chartered Accountants

And Statutory Auditors

Ground Floor Cardigan House

Castle Court

Swansea Enterprise Park

Swansea

SA7 9LA

The directors present their strategic report of the company and the group for the year ended 30 June 2023.

REVIEW OF BUSINESS

The Company is a provider of biomass monitoring solutions and services. It offers both dielectric and optical instrumentation to measure and monitor biomass, and sells it within the brewing and biotech markets.

The trading activities of the company continued with good levels of profits, showing a gross profit of £9,223,243 (2022: £7,687,306) and a profit after tax of £2,503,543 (2022: £2,361,923).

2023

2022

2021

2020

£

£

£

£

Turnover

11,751

9,358

7,182

6,525

Growth %

26%

30%

10%

The directors are also very pleased with the development of the business in 2023, with a significant increase in head count alongside the financial growth.

The profit after tax for the year (£2,503,543) is particularly pleasing given the challenging economic and trading environment in the UK in 2023. This has been driven by the pandemic biotech sector boom.

FUTURE PLANS

We are not expecting as strong growth in financial year June 2024 as the biotech market has settled to flat following the pandemic. However, the brewing sector has recovered strongly and we have plenty of market penetration opportunities in front of us.

The major challenges in 2023/24 are:

- Launch and achieve significant revenue from our new range of optical sensors.

- Ensure our capacitance sensors are reaching as many end users as possible.

Despite the challenging trading environment, the directors consider that the company is well placed to continue to operate profitably.

PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

The Company is committed to its environmental, social and governance responsibilities. We are proactive in working to reduce the impact of our activities on the environment. An example of this is monitoring energy consumption and installing solar panels and battery systems. We are 14001 compliant. We contribute 1% of our profits to a charity fund that benefits the communities where we work. Being fully employee owned we provide excellent work environment and high quality jobs with meaning and purpose. We remain focused on managing ABER in a sustainable and efficient way in order to safeguard all our futures.

Financial Risks

The company uses various financial instruments which include cash and other items such as trade creditors that arise directly from its operations. The main risks arising from the company's financial instruments are liquidity risk and credit risk.

Liquidity risk

The company seeks to manage financial risk by ensuring sufficient liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and to invest cash assets safely and profitably. The company has built up its cash reserves to the point where borrowings such as overdraft facilities are not relied upon for short-term flexibility.

Exchange rate risk

The company manages its exposure to exchange rate fluctuation on its trading with foreign entities by setting up multi-currency accounts so that amounts can be paid into the respective home currency bank accounts to avoid any unnecessary financial loss on translation.

Health & Safety

The company has in place a rigorous and far-reaching health & safety policy and is committed to adhering to all legislation requirements imposed on it through enforcing authorities.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

M P H Lee - Director

18 December 2023

The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company and the group for the year ended 30 June 2023.

DIVIDENDS

No interim dividend was paid during the year. The directors recommend a final dividend of 13.41p per share.

The total distribution of dividends for the year ended 30 June 2023 will be £ 117,801 .

DIRECTORS

The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from 1 July 2022 to the date of this report.

M P H Lee

T Pryce

J Turner

A R Bhat

D Anderson

DONATIONS

During the year donations of £33,523 (2022: £32,777) were made, none of these were political donations.

STATEMENT OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSIBILITIES

The directors are responsible for preparing the Group Strategic Report, the Report of the Directors and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law the directors have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under company law the directors must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and the group and of the profit or loss of the group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the directors are required to:

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company will continue in business.

The directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company's and the group's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and the group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

STATEMENT AS TO DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION TO AUDITORS

So far as the directors are aware, there is no relevant audit information (as defined by Section 418 of the Companies Act 2006) of which the group's auditors are unaware, and each director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the group's auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Bevan Buckland LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD:

M P H Lee - Director

18 December 2023

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Aber Instruments Limited (the 'parent company') and its subsidiaries (the 'group') for the year ended 30 June 2023 which comprise the Consolidated Income Statement, Consolidated Other Comprehensive Income, Consolidated Balance Sheet, Company Balance Sheet, Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, Company Statement of Changes in Equity, Consolidated Cash Flow Statement and Notes to the Consolidated Cash Flow Statement, Notes to the Financial Statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the group's and of the parent company affairs as at 30 June 2023 and of the group's profit for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

-	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the directors' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group's and the parent company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the directors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The directors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information in the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors, but does not include the financial statements and our Report of the Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

-	the information given in the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Group Strategic Report and the Report of the Directors have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Group Strategic Report or the Report of the Directors.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

-	adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

-	the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

-	certain disclosures of directors' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

-	we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the Statement of Directors' Responsibilities set out on page three, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group's and the parent company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements. We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the Financial Statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We discussed our audit independence complying with the Revised Ethical Standard 2019 with the engagement team members whilst planning the audit and continually monitored our independence throughout the process.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

-

enquiring of management, including obtaining and reviewing support documentation, concerning the company's policies and procedures relating to:

-

identifying, evaluating, and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;

-

detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;

-

internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;

-

discussing among the engagement team how and where fraud might occur in the Financial Statements and any potential indicators of fraud.

-

obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the company operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the Financial Statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the company, The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and relevant tax legislation.

In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:

-

reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations;

-

enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims; performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;

-

reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with HMRC;

-

In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments;

-

assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and

-

evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company's members those matters we are required to state to them in a Report of the Auditors and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Henry Lloyd-Davies (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Bevan Buckland LLP

Chartered Accountants

And Statutory Auditors

Ground Floor Cardigan House

Castle Court

Swansea Enterprise Park

Swansea

SA7 9LA

18 December 2023

TURNOVER

12,282,626

9,606,690

Cost of sales

3,059,383

1,919,384

GROSS PROFIT

9,223,243

7,687,306

Administrative expenses

6,525,361

5,136,912

2,697,882

2,550,394

Other operating income

127,784

170,915

OPERATING PROFIT

4

2,825,666

2,721,309

Interest receivable and similar income

35,700

414

PROFIT BEFORE TAXATION

2,861,366

2,721,723

Tax on profit

5

357,823

359,800

PROFIT FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR

2,503,543

2,361,923

Profit attributable to:

Owners of the parent

2,503,543

2,361,923

PROFIT FOR THE YEAR

2,503,543

2,361,923

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

Sale of Shares

155,265

(16,961

)

Donations to EBT

195,000

(164

)

Purchase of Own shares

(76,153

)

203,878

Income tax relating to components of other comprehensive income

-

-

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR, NET OF INCOME TAX

274,112

186,753

TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR

2,777,655

2,548,676

Total comprehensive income attributable to:

Owners of the parent

2,777,655

2,548,676

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

8

708,449

813,750

Tangible assets

9

3,655,035

2,481,314

Investments

10

-

-

4,363,484

3,295,064

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

11

3,136,845

1,393,263

Debtors

12

2,594,619

2,113,208

Cash at bank and in hand

7,253,152

7,499,189

12,984,616

11,005,660

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

13

2,104,669

1,660,967

NET CURRENT ASSETS

10,879,947

9,344,693

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

15,243,431

12,639,757

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

14

(439,462

)

(594,572

)

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

15

(241,013

)

(235,569

)

NET ASSETS

14,562,956

11,809,616

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

16

20,615

20,615

Share premium

17

112,556

19,070

Treasury Shares

17

(4,208

)

(4,208

)

Other reserves

17

1,121,445

847,333

Retained earnings

17

13,312,548

10,926,806

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

14,562,956

11,809,616

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 18 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

M P H Lee - Director

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

8

-

-

Tangible assets

9

2,971,934

2,475,856

Investments

10

1,008,919

8

3,980,853

2,475,864

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

11

3,066,970

1,283,222

Debtors

12

2,540,171

3,130,464

Cash at bank and in hand

7,000,528

6,737,737

12,607,669

11,151,423

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

13

1,852,229

1,495,500

NET CURRENT ASSETS

10,755,440

9,655,923

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

14,736,293

12,131,787

PROVISIONS FOR LIABILITIES

15

241,013

235,569

NET ASSETS

14,495,280

11,896,218

CAPITAL AND RESERVES

Called up share capital

16

20,615

20,615

Share premium

17

19,070

19,070

Treasury Shares

17

(4,208

)

(4,208

)

Other reserves

17

1,121,445

847,333

Retained earnings

17

13,338,358

11,013,408

SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS

14,495,280

11,896,218

Company's profit for the financial year

2,442,751

2,450,888

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 18 December 2023 and were signed on its behalf by:

M P H Lee - Director

Called up

share

Retained

Share

capital

earnings

premium

£

£

£

Balance at 1 July 2021

20,615

8,660,552

19,070

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

2,361,923

-

Other comprehensive income

-

-

-

Total comprehensive income

-

2,361,923

-

Dividends

-

(95,669

)

-

Balance at 30 June 2022

20,615

10,926,806

19,070

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

2,503,543

-

Other comprehensive income

-

-

-

Total comprehensive income

-

2,503,543

-

Dividends

-

(117,801

)

-

Issue of share capital

-

-

93,486

Balance at 30 June 2023

20,615

13,312,548

112,556

Treasury

Other

Total

Shares

reserves

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 1 July 2021

(3,574

)

439,946

9,136,609

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

-

2,361,923

Other comprehensive income

(634

)

407,387

406,753

Total comprehensive income

(634

)

407,387

2,768,676

Dividends

-

-

(95,669

)

Balance at 30 June 2022

(4,208

)

847,333

11,809,616

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

-

2,503,543

Other comprehensive income

-

274,112

274,112

Total comprehensive income

-

274,112

2,777,655

Dividends

-

-

(117,801

)

Issue of share capital

-

-

93,486

Balance at 30 June 2023

(4,208

)

1,121,445

14,562,956

Called up

share

Retained

Share

capital

earnings

premium

£

£

£

Balance at 1 July 2021

20,615

8,658,189

19,070

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

2,450,888

-

Other comprehensive income

-

-

-

Total comprehensive income

-

2,450,888

-

Dividends

-

(95,669

)

-

Balance at 30 June 2022

20,615

11,013,408

19,070

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

2,442,751

-

Other comprehensive income

-

-

-

Total comprehensive income

-

2,442,751

-

Dividends

-

(117,801

)

-

Balance at 30 June 2023

20,615

13,338,358

19,070

Treasury

Other

Total

Shares

reserves

equity

£

£

£

Balance at 1 July 2021

(3,574

)

439,946

9,134,246

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

-

2,450,888

Other comprehensive income

(634

)

407,387

406,753

Total comprehensive income

(634

)

407,387

2,857,641

Dividends

-

-

(95,669

)

Balance at 30 June 2022

(4,208

)

847,333

11,896,218

Changes in equity

Profit for the year

-

-

2,442,751

Other comprehensive income

-

274,112

274,112

Total comprehensive income

-

274,112

2,716,863

Dividends

-

-

(117,801

)

Balance at 30 June 2023

(4,208

)

1,121,445

14,495,280

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

1,752,097

2,501,810

Tax paid

(446,032

)

(47,084

)

Net cash from operating activities

1,306,065

2,454,726

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(1,470,001

)

(420,006

)

Interest received

35,700

414

Net cash from investing activities

(1,434,301

)

(419,592

)

Cash flows from financing activities

Equity dividends paid

(117,801

)

(95,669

)

Net cash from financing activities

(117,801

)

(95,669

)

(Decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents

(246,037

)

1,939,465

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year

2

7,499,189

5,559,724

Cash and cash equivalents at end of year

2

7,253,152

7,499,189