PRELIMINARY RESULTS Full year ended 31 March 2015 2 June 2015 - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

Full year ended 31 March 2015 2 June 2015

2 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Overview

 Very good full year results and continued delivery of strategy  31% increase in underlying EPS driven by acquisitions and organic growth

 Revenue up 36% CER to £271m  Underlying operating profit doubled to £13.4m  Despite foreign exchange headwinds

 Significant step forward in the transition to a highly differentiated Group

 Design & Manufacturing revenues increasing as a proportion of Group sales  Two important acquisitions – Noratel & Foss  Cross-selling initiatives generating new business

 Both new acquisitions performing well

 Noratel second half sales growth  Foss integrating quickly

 Full year dividend increased by 12%

Note: Growth rates quoted at constant exchange rates (CER)

3 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Financial review

4 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

 Gross margin up 1.3ppt to 31.1%  Free cash flow of £9.0m (76% of underlying PBT)  ROTCE(4) at 24%  Working capital at 13.6% of sales

1. Revenue at constant exchange rates (CER)

2.

• No. of shares rebased following rights issue (see Appendix III)

3.

Underlying profits exclude exceptional costs, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and IAS 19 legacy pension charge (see Appendices I and II)

4.

Return on trading capital employed excludes goodw ill and uses annualised result for Foss and Noratel acquisitions

Good results

FY 15 FY 14 Reported Growth CER Growth(1) Revenue £271.1m £211.6m +28% +36% Underlying operating profit £13.4m £7.1m +89% +106% Underlying operating margin 4.9% 3.4% +1.5ppts Underlying profit before tax £11.8m £6.3m +87% Reported profit before tax £4.3m £4.2m Underlying diluted EPS 15.4p 11.8p(2) +31% Reported EPS 4.8p 2.8p Dividend per share 7.6p 6.8p(2) +12%

5 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

155 164 170 16 36 42 59 FY 13 FY 14 FY 15

Growing revenue and gross margin

Revenue (£271.1m)

 Reported revenue up 28%

 8% translation impact (weaker € & Nordic currencies)

 Up 36% CER

 Custom Distribution +4%  Design & Manufacturing +182%

 Like-for-like sales growth +3%

 Custom Distribution +2%  Design & Manufacturing +9%

Gross Profit (£84.4m)

 Gross profit up 42% CER  Gross margin up 1.3ppt

 Up 5ppts in last 6yrs

1. Revenue at constant exchange rates (CER)

Revenue(1) (£m) Gross Margin

30.7% 29.8% 31.1%

FY 13 FY 14 FY 15

Distribution Noratel/Foss Other D&M

6 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Costs controlled

 Like-for-like costs up 3%

 Investing in D&M growth  Custom Distribution +1%

 Underlying adjustments

 Acquisition/integration related  Restructure of ABFi UK

1. Underlying adjustments for FY15 total £7.5m being £7.3m in operational costs above and £0.2m IAS19 interest charge in finance costs.

FY 15 FY 14 % Like-for-like costs 52.9 51.5 +3% Acquisitions/disposals 18.1 1.4 Underlying (CER) 71.0 52.9 +34% FX (translation)

• 3.0

Acquisition/integration 3.3 0.2 Restructuring 1.7 0.5 Amortisation 2.1 1.0 IAS 19 Pension 0.2 0.2 Reported (IFRS) 78.3 57.8 +35%

7 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Increased operating margin

 Operating profit(1) of £13.4m, up £6.3m (+89%)

 Up £6.9m at CER (+106%)

 Operating margin(1) of 4.9%, up 1.5ppts

 Driven by D&M growth  H1: 4.5%; H2: 5.3%

1. Underlying operating profit and margin exclude exceptional items, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and IAS19 legacy pension cost (see Appendix I and II) Operating Profit £m Operating Margin %

2.5% 3.0% 3.5% 4.0% 4.5% 5.0% 5.5% 0.0 3.0 6.0 9.0 12.0 15.0

FY 13 FY 14 FY 15

Underlying operating profit (CER) % of revenue (CER)

8 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Divisional performance

 Custom Distribution – profit up £0.3m CER (37% of Group profit contribution(2))  Improving demand in all territories except UK (H1: 0%, H2: 3%)  Design & Manufacturing – profit up £7.0m CER (63% of Group profit contribution(2))  37% of Group sales  Like-for-like sales up 9% with growth from all businesses  Strong operating margins at over 11%

1.

Like-for-like sales exclude companies acquired since last year - YEG (Custom Distribution); Noratel, Foss and RSG (D&M)

2.

Underlying operating profit excluding unallocated costs

£m

Revenue Operating % Revenue Operating % CER Like for profit profit like(1)

Custom Distribution 169.8 6.7 3.9% 163.7 6.4 3.9% 4% 2% Design & Manufacture 101.3 11.4 11.3% 35.9 4.4 12.3% 182% 9% Unallocated (4.7) (4.3) Total (CER) 271.1 13.4 4.9% 199.6 6.5 3.3% 36% 3% FX (translation) 12.0 0.6 0.1% Total (IFRS) 271.1 13.4 4.9% 211.6 7.1 3.4% Sales Growth FY 14 (CER) FY 15

9 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015 9.8p 11.8p 15.4p

FY 13 FY 14 FY 15

Strong earnings per share growth

 Underlying PBT up 87%  Underlying EPS of 15.4p up 31%

 Up 57% in 2 yrs

1. No of shares for FY 14 rebased follow ing rights issue (see Appendix III) 2. Underlying PBT excludes exceptional costs (£5.0m), amortisation of acquired intangible assets (£2.1m) and IAS 19 legacy pension cost (£0.4m) (see Appendix I and II)

Underlying EPS

£m FY 15 FY 14 Operating profit 13.4 7.1 Finance costs (1.6) (0.8) Underlying PBT 11.8 6.3 Effective tax rate 20% 14% Underlying PAT 9.4 5.4 Fully diluted shares(1) (m) 60.9 45.9 Underlying diluted EPS (p) 15.4p 11.8p £m FY 15 Underlying PBT 11.8 Underlying adjustments(2) (7.5) IFRS PBT 4.3 IFRS EPS (p) 4.8p

10 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Consistent cash flow

 Free cash flow up £3.6m to £9.0m

 76% of PBT  Average of 78% PBT over last 3 years

 Gearing ratio(4) of c 1.0x  Average net debt of £24m since Foss acquisition  5 year revolving credit facility of £70m

 Excellent long term, committed funding

1. Non-cash items: D&A and share based payments 2. Working capital adjusted over last 3 yrs for a significant customer prepayment of £3.2m (FY13: £2.6m, FY14: £0.6m), invoicedthis yr. 3. FY15 - Acquisition of Noratel and Foss less receipt from sale of Enterprise, plus associated acquisition/disposal costs 4. Net debt at 31 March 2015 as a ratio of adjusted EBITDA (being the Group underlying EBITDA adjusted for a full year’s inclus ion of the underlying EBITDA of acquisitions).

FY 15 Net cash at 31 March 2014 2.3 Cash flow from continuing operations (1.5) Acquisitions/disposals(3) (74.2) Net equity proceeds 52.7 Cash flow from discontinued operations (0.2) FX (translation) 1.9 Net cash at 31 March 2015 (19.0) FY 15 FY 14 Underlying profit before tax 11.8 6.3 Finance cost 1.6 0.8 Non cash items(1) 3.4 1.9 EBITDA 16.8 9.0 Working capital (0.5) (0.5) Capex & FA disposals (2.4) (1.4) Operating cash flow 13.9 7.1 Interest (1.6) (0.8) Tax (3.3) (0.9) Free cash 9.0 5.4 Exceptional payments (2.1) (2.5) Customer prepayment (3.2) 0.6 Legacy pension (1.6) (1.5) Dividends (3.6) (2.7) Cash flow (pre equity) (1.5) (0.7)

11 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Dividend per share(1)

1.

• No. of shares for FY10 to FY14 rebased follow ing rights issue (see Appendix III)

Progressive dividend

 Full year dividend up 12%

 Reflects strong results

 FY15 underlying dividend cover of 2.0

 Aim: 2-3x cover (underlying basis)

 Delivered 49% growth FY10 - FY15

 8.3% CAGR

 Full impact of rights issue from next year

 Cash cost £4.8m (£3.6m FY15)

1.7p 1.7p 1.8p 1.8p 1.8p 2.2p 3.4p 3.7p 4.0p 4.4p 5.0p 5.4p 5.1p 5.4p 5.8p 6.2p 6.8p 7.6p FY10 FY11 FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15

12 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Summary financial highlights

 Solid organic sales growth

 Excellent performance from higher margin D&M

 Acquisitions all performing well

 Strong contribution from Noratel

 Significant growth in profits, margins and EPS

 Despite translational impact of weaker currencies

 Tight control of costs and capital  Dividend up 12%

13 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Operating review

14 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Strong operational performance

 GDP+ organic growth in most countries

 Widespread growth in Germany  Soft in UK (general manufacturing market & re-organisation disruption) and Norway (oil price)  New markets of North America & Asia growing well

 Acquiring high quality businesses that are proving a very good fit

 Focus is on Design & Manufacturing but also Custom Distribution  Noratel second half grew 7% YoY with Foss similar early signs  Validates a key part of our strategy

 Cross-selling & web programmes generated £5.5m in new business  Growing profitability with excellent working capital efficiency

 New operating margin target of 6-7%  Working capital efficiency remains <14% of sales

 Delivering significant shareholder value

 Upper quartile FTSE Small Cap TSR performance over each of the last 3 years  TSR growth of 101% in the last 3 years, c.400% over the last 6 years

15 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Strategy reminder

Transforming into a technology-led provider of customised electronics for industrial applications with design, manufacturing and distribution capabilities

 Moving up the electronics value chain

 Focussing on higher margin, differentiated products in Design & Manufacturing

 Growing sales organically well ahead of GDP

 Attractive market fundamentals  Cross-selling between Group companies  Powerful web marketing platform

 Acquiring businesses

 Strong fit with Group strategy  Broadening and strengthening geographic and technical capabilities

 Developing sales beyond Europe

 Following existing customers  Acquisitions in target markets and geographies

Creating our own market space

16 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

(1) As a proportion of group rev enue (2) Return on trading capital employ ed excludes goodwill and uses annualised result f or Foss and Noratel acquisitions in the y ear (3) Free cash f low def ined as net cash f low bef ore pay ment of exceptional items, pay ment to the legacy def ined benef it pension sc heme, div idends, net proceeds f rom equity f und raising and costs of / proceeds f rom acquisitions and disposals

Good progress towards strategic & performance targets

Key Strategic Indicators

Mid term target

• 1. Increase Design & Manufacturing revenue(1)
• c. 5%

18% 37% 65%

• 2. Increase cross-selling & web generated sales(1)

0% 2.7% 4% 4~5%

• 3. Build sales beyond Europe(1)

0% 5% 12% 20%

Key Performance Indicators

3 yr target

• 1. Organic sales growth
• 16%

2% 3%

• 2. Increase underlying operating margin
• 0.3%

3.4% 4.9% 6-7% H2 15 at 5.3%

• 3. Attractive ROTCE(2)
• 24%

24% >25% 4 Generate strong free cash flow (FCF)(3)

• 86%

76% >75% PBT 5 Generate long term value for shareholders (TSR)

• 42%

19% (percentile v FTSE small cap index)

27th percentile 21st percentile

FY 10 FY 10 FY 15(2) FY 14 FY 14 FY 15 Well ahead

• f GDP

Upper quartile GDP grew 1.1% in Europe (CY 14); UK & Norway behind GDP growth 101% TSR in 3 years Comments

17 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015 Northern Europe, (7)% Central Europe, 12% Southern Europe, 9% North America, 41% Asia & Africa, 6%

• 20%
• 10%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Group revenue - organic growth* & relative size

Revenue & order book

 Significant growth in European markets  UK electronics manufacturing was soft  Oil price effects felt in Norway  North America growing strongly with very highly

customised products

* Group organic grow th defined as like for like CER, including acquisitions and pre-acquisition period 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000

Group order book (£m)  Group order book up 77% in last 3 years

 Driven by organic growth and acquisitions

March -12 March -13 March -14 March -15

18 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

0.4 0.6

0.5 1 1.5 New sales in the year Recurring sales

Cross-selling

£5.5m in new sales from cross-selling

 £11.2m total sales from cross-selling  £5.7m recurring sales

 From prior year projects

Two forms of cross-selling:

 Sister company cross-selling

 Selling between Group companies

 Acal BFi cross-selling

 Selling different Acal BFi technologies to

existing Acal BFi customers

Sister Company cross-selling (£m)

5.3 4.9

10 New sales in the year Recurring sales

Acal BFi cross-selling (£m)

19 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Custom Distribution

 2% organic sales growth CER

 4% including YEG

 8% organic growth in continental Europe

 All regions in growth

 UK sales declined by 14%

 Electronic manufacturing markets remain weak  Re-organisation disruption

 Successful integration of Young Electronics into

Acal BFi UK

 High proportion of value added engineering

 Customised products  Built to order (stock turn c.10x)  Not a ‘box shifter’

UK, (14)% Ger 9% Fr 10%

Bnlx 8%

Nordic, 7% Italy, 14% Spain, 1%

• 20%
• 15%
• 10%
• 5%

0% 5% 10% 15% 20%

Custom Distribution – organic growth* & relative size

* Organic grow th defined as like for like CER, including acquisitions and pre-acquisition period

20 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015 UK, 2% Germany, 26% France, 13% Nordic, -4% Europe other, 2% North America, 41% Asia, 14%

• 20%
• 10%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% Design & Manufacturing – organic growth* & relative size

Design & Manufacturing

 9% organic sales growth CER  Driven by Germany, Asia & North America

 Developing new international business

 Oil price effects felt in Norway  Noratel North America returned to profitability

and growing strongly

 Driving improvements in Group operating

margin

* Organic grow th defined as like for like CER, including acquisitions and pre-acquisition period

21 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Diversified Group

France 11% International 12% UK 21% Germany 22% Nordic 19% Benelux 7% Italy 5%

Spain 3%

FY15

14% 26% 23% 9% 12% 8% 8%

FY11

Sales by country Sales by industry sector Sales by customer

 Largest individual customer – <2%  Top 100 individual customers – 34%  Largest Group of customers – 3%

Automation 6% Auto 8% Comms 10% Consumer 4% Distribution 9% Defence 7% Industrial 20% Medical 12% Oil & Gas 2% Renew able 6% Transport 4% Research 4% Other 8%

 Two thirds – Germany, UK, Nordic  International – 12% and growing  Industrial – 20%  Medical – 12%  Communications – 10%  Stable growing sectors

Top 10 11%

Top 11-100 23%

All others 66%

22 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Noratel delivering

 Designer & manufacturer of customised transformers & inductors

 Acquired in July 2014 for £71m, plus 3 year earn out subject to performance  Higher operating margins  c.70% customised products  Selling in Europe, Asia and USA

Progress

 Trading well as expected

 7% organic sales growth in H2  North America returned to profitability and sales growth  Immediately earnings enhancing

 Cross-selling underway

 First orders received in cross-sell activities  Further opportunities identified

 Purchasing synergies of £0.2m achieved in Poland & China

 In line with expectations

23 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Foss acquisition update

 Designer, manufacturer and distributor of customised fibre optic cables and support products

 Acquired in January 2015 for £8.5m  3 year earn out of up to £1.7m subject to performance targets

 Based in Norway and Slovakia

 Sales, production and value add capabilities  Established 1984 in Norway and acquired Slovakian facility in 2013

 Proven management remaining with the business  Broadly doubles Acal’s fibre optic business

 Cross-selling activities underway

 Creates further bolt-on acquisition opportunities  Immediately earnings enhancing

24 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Outlook

 The new financial year has started in line with our expectations  Well positioned for further growth with market conditions expected to improve

 Compelling long term organic market drivers

 Developing several acquisition opportunities

 Funding resources available

25 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

APPENDICES

27 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

37%

EBIT

Power & Magnetics Electro- mechanical Microsystems & Displays Communications & Sensors Imaging & Photonics

Head Office Custom Distribution Design & Manufacturing Key:

20,000 customers

Acal today

Design & Manufacturing



Own products, highly differentiated, c.5000 customers



c.75% customised



Higher margins

Custom distribution



Market reach – 20,000 customers, 12 geographies



Sales & engineering capability – 560 employees



Web platform – lead generation

37%

Sales

63%

EBIT

63%

Sales

 Operating companies

 Share customer opportunities  Achieve synergies  Retain an entrepreneurial culture

28 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

The market opportunity

 Attractive markets driven by technology adoption

 Customers need technology to create innovation in their products  Estimated* £12bn market globally (£4bn Eu, £6bn USA, £2bn Asia)

 Markets likely to remain attractive long term

 Growth well ahead of GDP  Customer need for expert technical support will continue and grow  Market will remain highly fragmented – acquisition opportunities  Europe & USA will remain centres for high end industrial design Focused customised electronics leader

• Design, manufacturing and custom

distribution

• International footprint
• Industrial market
• Driven by;
• Organic growth
• Cross-selling
• Acquisitions

Our future

* Management estimates

29 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Underlying to IFRS reconciliation

 Management believe the adjustments

enable a better understanding of the performance of the business.

 The adjustments made to IFRS results

are:-

 Acquisition/disposal related costs

(transaction costs, earn-outs, integration, amortisation of acquired intangibles, gain or loss on acquisition or disposal)

 Other exceptionals (restructuring,

IAS 19 pension charge related to legacy scheme)

Appendix I

1.

* No. of shares for FY14 rebased following rights issue (see Appendix III)

YE 31 March 2015 (£m)

Underlying

Excep. Amort IAS19

Di sc ont i nue d

IFRS Gross profit 84.4 84.4 S&D costs (39.9) (39.9) Admin expenses (31.1) (5.0) (2.1) (0.2) (38.4) Operating Profit 13.4 (5.0) (2.1) (0.2) 6.1 Net finance costs (1.6) (0.2) (1.8) Profit before tax 11.8 (5.0) (2.1) (0.4) 4.3 Taxation (2.4) 0.1 0.8 0.1 (1.4) Discontinued

• Profit after tax

9.4 (4.9) (1.3) (0.3)

• 2.9

Effective tax rate 20% 33% EPS 15.4p 4.8p YE 31 March 2014 (£m)

Underlying

Excep. Amort IAS19

Di sc ont i nue d

IFRS Gross profit 63.0 63.0 S&D costs (36.5) (36.5) Admin expenses (19.4) (0.7) (1.0) (0.2) (21.3) Operating Profit 7.1 (0.7) (1.0) (0.2) 5.2 Net finance costs (0.8) (0.2) (1.0) Profit before tax 6.3 (0.7) (1.0) (0.4) 4.2 Taxation (0.9) 0.3 0.1 (0.5) Discontinued (2.4) (2.4) Profit after tax 5.4 (0.7) (0.7) (0.3) (2.4) 1.3 Effective tax rate 14% 11% EPS * 11.8p 2.8p

30 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Appendix II

Exceptional items & underlying adjustments

FY 15 FY 14 Earn outs (Myrra/Noratel) (0.8) (0.3) Acquisiton costs (2.5) (1.4) Acal BFi restructuring (1.7) (0.5) Gain on acquisition of YEG

• 1.5

Total Exceptionals (5.0) (0.7) Amortisation of acquired intangibles (2.1) (1.0) Legacy pension - IAS19 (0.4) (0.4) Underlying Adjustments (7.5) (2.1) Tax impact of adjustments 1.0 0.4 After tax adjustments (6.5) (1.7)

31 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Appendix III



The number of shares for FY14 (and earlier years) was increased by a factor of 1.3759 being the bonus issue element inherent in the rights issue completed in July 2014.



Accordingly, earnings per share and dividend per share have been adjusted down by the same factor.

FY14 – Continuing Operations

Pre-rights issue Post-rights issue Underlying profit after tax 5.4 5.4 Reported profit after tax 3.7 3.7 No of shares - Total (mil) 31.314 43.085 No of shares - Diluted (mil) 33.368 45.910 Underlying basic EPS 17.2p 12.5p Underlying diluted EPS 16.2p 11.8p EPS (IFRS) 11.8p 8.6p Dividend per share 9.4p 6.8p

Impact of the rights issue

32 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Balance Sheet

 Increase in operating capital employed and

reduction in cash relates to:

 Acquisitions in the period (Noratel and Foss)  Movement in Net Assets

Appendix IV

Net Assets

At 31 March 2014 48.5 Profit after tax 2.9 Dividend paid (3.6) Equity issue 53.5 FX on net currency assets (8.0) (1.6) Change in FV of cash flow hedges 0.6 Share based payment (incl tax) 0.4 At 31 March 2015 92.7 Actuarial losses on defined benefit pension (incl tax)

FY15 FY 14 (CER) Fixed Assets PPE 13.8 3.2 Intangibles 18.3 3.9 32.1 7.1 Trading capital employed Inventories 39.8 19.0 Receivables 60.8 44.1 Payables (56.2) (44.1) 44.4 19.0 Operating capital employed 76.5 26.1 Other assets/(liabilities) Goodwill 51.6 19.3 Provisions (6.1) (3.3) Net tax (liabilities)/assets (2.9) 0.8 Pension (7.4) (6.5) Net cash (19.0) 2.0 Net assets held for sale

• 5.5

FX (Translation)

• 4.6

Total reported net assets 92.7 48.5

33 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Working capital remains well managed

 Working capital was13.6% of sales(1)  10.2% excluding Noratel  ROTCEat 24% is consistent year on year

Working capital as a % of sales(1)

• 1. Calculated as a percentage of annualised Q4 sales

Appendix V

8.0% 10.0% 12.0% 14.0% 16.0% 18.0% 20.0% 22.0% 24.0% 10.0 15.0 20.0 25.0 30.0 35.0 40.0 45.0 50.0 FY 10 FY 11 FY 12 FY 13 FY14 FY15 Working Capital excl Noratel Noratel/Foss Working Capital % sales excl Noratel % sales total

34 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Fleet management computer for a Nordic food transportation firm

Cross-selling between Acal BFi and Hectronic

A Nordic food transportation fleet management firm asked Hectronic and Acal BFi to supply a new fleet management computer. Hectronic worked with the customer on the design of the elements used to log driver data and record additional fleet management data such as speed, mileage and fuel consumption. These elements were customised to the customer’s requirements. Acal BFi worked with Hectronic to design and specify the sensing elements for recording speed, acceleration, location, pressure and altitude, using Sensing, GPS and Wifi systems from Acal BFi’s suppliers. The fleet management computer and sensors were designed to the customer’s specific requirements by engineers with products from two Acal businesses. The result was a highly optimised product for the customer, and a better solution for Acal, selling more than just one product.

Internal power supply for a European sound and lighting company

Acal BFi and Myrra cross-selling

Acal BFi was supplying a leading European sound and lighting firm with electronic components for an automated audio messaging and video

• unit. Audio amplification in this unit was key to sound performance, and

the quality of the internal power supply determined the calibre of the sound. During the design process, Acal BFi specified a customised Myrra inductor, using a core component from an Acal BFi supplier. The collaboration between Acal BFi and Myrra created a superior end product for the customer. For Acal, the cross-selling between its distribution and manufacturing companies resulted in additional sales and a longer-term contract.

35 PRELIMINARY RESULTS│ 2nd June 2015

Utilising electricity infrastructures for fibre optic communications

Technological know how

The use of optical ground wires (“OPGW”) is a cost effective and secure method of carrying high speed data traffic in long distance regional optical networks. Operating in remote areas and under severe weather conditions requires simple and effective tools for splicing the OPGW. In co-

• peration with the national system operator, Foss has developed a

system for splicing the optical fibre, contained within a stainless steel enclosure, whilst also storing excess cable. Foss engineers support the system by offering on-site installation

• training. Several national and international installers have

undertaken this training.

Design of a new livestock tracking device for a UK manufacturer

Consultative approach

For several years, Acal BFi has been supplying customised magnetic components to a UK manufacturer of a livestock tracking device. During this time Acal BFi learned that the current design consumed too much power, thereby draining the batteries when the animals were remote from the farm. Acal BFi engineers created a new design so providing much greater battery life and reduced weight, and which incorporates a movement sensor that detects injured animals.