Annual Report 2012
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc Annual Report and Accounts 2012 Symphony Environmental 
Technologies plc, dedicated 
to ﬁnding technical solutions 
to the world’s environmental 
and public health problems.
We care passionately about health and the environment. 
Over the years we have identiﬁed areas in which Symphony can 
make a difference, not just in our home country of Great Britain, 
but also all around the world.
Since 2012 the Group has been broadening its horizons, 
looking at the wider health and environmental issues that 
could be solved through innovation. In the last year alone, we 
have launched new ranges of our d
2
p masterbatch that provide 
anti-fungal performance in plastic products. Our anti-bacterial 
d
2
p is already on the market, and other variations and 
applications are in development. d
2
p complements our 
world-leading, controlled-life masterbatch d
2
w which converts 
plastic at the end of its useful life into a biodegradable material.
Our quality-control and anti-counterfeiting d
2
Detector device 
is proving its worth, and our d
2
t masterbatch range of d
2
t Tag 
and Trace technologies provide customers with the reassurance 
that their products can be identiﬁed as genuine. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 01
Financial statements Governance Business review
Highlights 2011–12
Business review
02  Symphony at a glance
04  Chairman’s Statement
06 Our key strengths 
 – Innovation and technology 
 – Infrastructure 
 – Our global network 
 – People and service
10   Chief Executive’s Review
14 Our products
18  Corporate Social Responsibility
Governance
20 Board of Directors
22 Directors’ Report
24 Remuneration Report
Financial statements
25  Independent Auditor’s Report 
26  Consolidated Statement  
of Comprehensive Income
27  Consolidated Statement  
of Financial Position 
28  Consolidated Statement  
of Changes in Equity
29  Consolidated Cash Flow 
Statement
30  Notes to the Annual Report  
and Accounts
48 Company Balance Sheet
49  Notes to the Company  
Balance Sheet
For more information visit: 
www.symphonyplastics.com 
 > Revenues of £4.94 million 
(2011: £8.54 million) 
 > Operating loss of £2.18 
million (2011: proﬁt 
£0.50 million)
 > Loss before tax of £2.20 
million (2011: proﬁt 
£0.42 million)
 > Loss after tax of £2.22 million 
(2011: proﬁt £0.52 million) 
 > Basic loss per share of 1.74p 
(2011: earnings per share 
0.42p)
 > Cash generated from 
operations £0.45 million 
(2011: cash consumed 
£0.19 million)
 > Increase in number of 
distributors from 67 to 72
Post year-end
 > Revenues for January 
and February 2013 
100% higher than same 
period in 2012
 > Legislation in UAE 
extended to cover 
13 more products for 
oxo-biodegradable 
technology
 > Legislation in Pakistan 
makes oxo-biodegradable 
technology mandatory
 >
Launch of SymTyre-S300
 > Directors increased 
share holding from 14.3% 
to 19.6% Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
02
Symphony is a global company, reaching 
every corner of the globe. We have a 
growing number of distributors and 
sub-distributors giving us a presence 
in over 90 countries worldwide. 
Our brands
Symphony Environmental Technologies
d
2
w is a masterbatch 
which, when included at the 
manufacturing stage, turns 
ordinary plastic at the end of 
its useful life into a material 
with a different molecular 
structure. At that stage it is 
no longer a plastic and has 
become a material which is 
inherently biodegradable in 
the open environment in 
the same way as a leaf. 
 SEE PAGE 14
http://degradable.net/d2w-
controlledlife-plastic/ 
what-is-d2w/ 
d
2
p is a masterbatch range 
that provides anti-microbial 
performance. The active 
ingredients in d
2
p have been 
successfully tested against 
over 50 common organisms 
and dangerous bacteria, such 
as MRSA, E.coli, Salmonella, 
Listeria, Pseudomonas, 
and Aspergillus Niger. 
Symphony currently has two 
ranges of d
2
p masterbatch: 
d
2
p(AB) is anti-bacterial 
and d
2
p(AF) is anti-fungal. 
 SEE PAGE 15
http://degradable.net/ﬁles/
uploaded/environmental/ 
d2p%20ab.pdf 
http://degradable.net/ﬁles/
uploaded/environmental/ 
d2p%20af.pdf 
d
2
t is a masterbatch  
range that provides 
anti-counterfeiting 
performance. Tag and trace 
technologies offer the ability 
to accurately determine the 
content of your plastic 
packaging and other plastic 
products through a unique 
tracer or a sophisticated 
forensic tagging system. d
2
t 
complements Symphony’s 
portable d
2
Detector device.
 SEE PAGE 16
Symphony at a glance Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 03
Business review Governance Financial statements
Our global network
The network is backed 
up by a global team  
for technical and 
marketing support.
The d
2
Detector is a 
XRF (X-ray) device that 
allows customers, and 
the authorities in countries 
with relevant legislation, to 
determine in less than 60 
seconds whether or not a 
plastic product contains d
2
w 
or d
2
p or d
2
t additives as 
speciﬁed, and whether it 
contains any undesirable 
substances.
 SEE PAGE 16
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=jTlQRGZnrgg 
Waste-to-value. Symphony 
has identiﬁed the disposal of 
scrap tyres as a major issue, 
and we are asked to provide 
solutions for the millions of 
scrap tyres dumped around 
the world. Symphony 
Recycling Technologies 
has launched SymTyre-S300 
as a ﬁrst step solution 
which “ﬂat-packs” the 
tyres, making them easier 
and more cost-effective 
to store and to transport. 
Symphony is currently 
working on further solutions 
for scrap tyres and other 
waste products.
 SEE PAGE 17
http://symphonyrecycling.net/
technology/symtyres300/ 
Symphony is proud to be a founder-member 
of the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association, 
which exists to explain and promote 
oxo-biodegradable plastics technology. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
04
Chairman’s Statement 
Nirj Deva
2012 was disappointing in terms of 
ﬁnancial performance, but strong in 
terms of cash generation, and product and 
market development. There were delays 
in securing expected orders and the Group 
changed its trading polices in order to 
reduce foreign exchange and asset risks 
by improving the level of letter of credit 
or proforma based business. This led to a 
reduction in revenues for the year to £4.94 
million (2011: £8.54 million) and a loss before 
tax of £2.20 million (2011: proﬁt £0.42 million). 
The policies were, however, successful in 
contributing to the generation of £0.45 million 
of cash from operations (2011: cash 
consumed £0.19 million).
Underlying R & D expenditure increased in 
line with identiﬁed opportunities. Together 
with d
2
w controlled life products and 
applications, we invested further into our 
d
2
p (anti-microbial and anti-fungal) and d
2
t 
(anti-counterfeiting) products. The Group 
employs a highly qualiﬁed scientiﬁc team with 
a presence in four continents. Full “in-house” 
development facilities became operational 
during 2012.
Our recycling division, Symphony Recycling 
Technologies, continued its investment in 
tyre recycling technologies. The Government-
funded RuPERT project successfully concluded 
at the end of the year and we are investigating 
commercial opportunities going forward. 
“ The most signiﬁcant aspect 
over the last twelve months 
was the increasing momentum 
of legislative change in favour 
of d
2
w oxo-biodegradable 
type products.”
Signiﬁcantly, and separate to RuPERT, we 
launched in early 2013 the SymTyre-S300 
tyre “ﬂat-pack” machine in order to generate 
initial revenues and to establish an early 
market presence.
The most signiﬁcant aspect over the 
last twelve months was the increasing 
momentum of legislative change in favour 
of d
2
w oxo-biodegradable type products. The 
results of this are expected to show in 2013. 
Pakistan announced in February 2013 that 
it has legislated against plastic which is not 
oxo-biodegradable, and the United Arab 
Emirates extended its product range covered 
by similar legislation that came into effect 
in 2012. This extension to the product range 
adds items such as food packaging and 
stretch ﬁlms to the carrier bags and refuse 
sacks that are currently being enforced. 
Other countries are following their example.
Exciting opportunities have been developed 
for our d
2
p product range with end-user 
beneﬁts relating to food and non-food sectors 
with potential cost savings being identiﬁed for 
the industry and the consumer. This is being 
marketed through our existing distribution 
network together with d
2
t, which we believe 
is a unique and valuable offering to users with 
a highly valued brand or to protect high value 
goods from unauthorised copying.
I am pleased to report that revenues for 
January and February 2013 are 100% higher 
than in the same period last year.
I would like to thank our distributors, staff 
and the Board for their hard work over the 
last year and we look forward to the future 
with conﬁdence.
Nirj Deva, DL FRSA MEP
Chairman
26 March 2013
Identifying 
opportunities Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 05
Business review Governance Financial statements
Our strategy
Our strategy is to deliver sustained 
revenue growth and increase visibility 
and awareness of the Company 
and its achievements over the 
forthcoming year.
Markets
>  We will continue to encourage 
legislation in favour of 
oxo-biodegradable plastic
>  We will create value for end users 
and brands
> We will increase brand values
>  We will strengthen our global 
distribution network
Diversiﬁcation and investment
>  We will continue to invest in research 
and development
>  We will extend our product range 
by introducing new d
2
w, d
2
p and 
d
2
t products
>  We will commercialise Symphony 
Recycling Technologies
Plastic ﬁlm being blown in a factory
d 2w product range continues to grow Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
06
Symphony has its own laboratories and test 
facilities in the UK where our technical teams 
test, develop, and continuously improve our 
products. We continue to invest in R&D as we 
strongly believe that it is essential to answer 
the world’s health and environmental problems. 
Over the last year we have invested in new 
equipment and worked extensively with 
universities and scientiﬁc centres all over 
the world.  Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 07
Business review Governance Financial statements
We have an infrastructure in place for providing 
support to our global marketing and sales 
teams. Symphony currently has three locations 
in the UK: our Head Office is at Borehamwood, 
where we also have a laboratory for scientiﬁc 
experiments, testing and developments; at Great 
Yarmouth we have a technical team focusing on 
quality-control testing; and at Telford, our 
newest laboratory is equipped with machinery 
for industrial experiments and product 
development. Symphony works with a number 
of universities and specialised test centres 
around the world. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
08
Symphony is a global company with a presence 
in almost all parts of the globe. We develop and 
maintain successful partnerships with distributors 
and sub-distributors worldwide, and we continue 
to grow our distribution network. We work with 
our network to build relationships in their countries 
with suppliers, manufacturers, end users and the 
governmental and non-governmental sectors. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 09
Business review Governance Financial statements
We aim to provide value, efficiency, quality and 
fulﬁlment to our customers and staff, with a 
focus on striving for excellence and ensuring 
that we deliver on our promise. As a professional 
organisation we value our people, who are our 
greatest asset. Our strengths come from 
attracting the right people and from providing 
support for our customers around the world 
based on experience and technical excellence.  
We know how to make the products, and equally 
important we know how to use them in their 
industrial applications. Our marketing and 
technical teams are available at short notice in 
most time zones. As the only public company 
listed in London in the oxo-biodegradable ﬁeld, 
we pride ourselves on the service we provide, 
which is a major factor in purchasing decisions 
by our customers. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
10
Chief Executive’s Review
The year under review can be divided into 
two parts, the ﬁrst being the ﬁnancial, and 
the second the commercial. As to the ﬁrst, 
a reduction in revenues together with a 
substantial trading loss was recorded. The cause 
for this exceptional result following a proﬁt trend 
was a delay in expected sales from markets 
where we could see a process of legislative 
change, albeit not implemented, and a change 
in operating policies. The change in operating 
policies led to a signiﬁcant reduction of 
receivables and also stocks held by the distributor 
network. This resulted in an improved working-
capital cycle and a reduced exposure to credit 
risk. The cash generated from this strategy was 
£0.45 million, and this was re-invested into 
product research and development. 
On the second part, the commercial, we 
achieved considerable success. The foundations 
were created to increase revenues and a move 
back into proﬁtability during 2013. In the period, 
new products, new markets and new territories 
were identiﬁed and established. Laboratory 
trials for new products in our d
2
w, d
2
p and d
2
t 
technologies showed encouraging results which 
led to several lengthy commercial trials with end 
user corporations which are still ongoing. 
The technical and marketing team were active 
throughout the year by focusing politicians’ and 
consumers’ attention to the beneﬁt of plastics 
with d
2
w inside. This activity was supported by 
the life-cycle-analysis that was commissioned 
by us and issued by Intertek in May 2012. We 
believe that the results of these actions will 
encourage countries to look at the d
2
w oxo-
biodegradable option rather than ban or restrict 
the use of plastics altogether. Pakistan and the 
UAE have changed legislation in favour of our 
type of oxo-biodegradable technology, and 
others have also followed this course. The 
Symphony technical team has been active in 
many ways, and in particular, are committee 
members in most of the main standards 
organisations such as ASTM, BSI, and ISO. 
Symphony cares for the environment and the planet that we 
are leaving for future generations
Plastic products containing Symphony’s d 2w are recyclable, 
reuseable and biodegradable
Providing quality 
products and service Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 11
Business review Governance Financial statements
This strategy helps to ensure that our type of 
technologies are recognised and supported. 
Additionally, we continue to extend our market 
reach and the global distribution network 
expanded to 72 (2011: 67) during 2012.
The Symphony Recycling division also made 
some positive steps forward and continues to 
develop its recycling technologies. The RuPERT 
project was successfully completed in 
December 2012.
Operationally, the following was achieved  
during 2012:
 Accreditation to ISO14001
 Opening of our development facility in  
Telford, UK
 Launch of our d
2
p anti-fungal technologies 
at the International Bakery show (IBA2012) in 
Munich following successful laboratory trials
 Launch of our d
2
t 
anti-counterfeiting technologies
Trading results
Total Group revenues were lower at £4.94 million 
(2011: £8.54 million). Group gross proﬁt margins 
reduced from 54% to 44%. These factors 
resulted in a 53% decrease in the contribution 
from gross proﬁt from £4.59 million in 2011 
to £2.15 million in 2012. Gross margins were 
reduced due to the sales mix leaning towards 
the lower value areas while the higher value 
regions reduced their local stock levels.
Sales to the Americas reduced from £4.62 
million in 2011 to £2.11 million in 2012 and 
represented 43% of 2012 revenues (2011: 54%). 
This was the main area where stocks and 
receivables were high at the end of 2011 and so 
suffered as a result of the change in operating 
policies. Our primary markets in this sector 
are Mexico and Brazil. 
Sales to UK and Europe reduced from £1.97 
million in 2011 to £1.38 million in 2012 and 
represented 28% of 2012 revenues (2011: 23%). 
This includes sales to Italy which was strong in 
2011 but confused packaging legislation in the 
country led to reduced volumes in 2012. 
Sales to the Rest of the World reduced from 
£1.95 million in 2011 to £1.45 million in 2012 and 
represented 29% of 2012 revenues (2011: 23%). 
Territories include the UAE which also had high 
stocks at the end of 2011. 
Total expenses increased to £4.21 million (2011: 
£3.90 million) which included provisions against 
receivables of £0.39 million (2011: £nil). Total 
staff costs were marginally higher at £2.16 
million (2011: £2.02 million) and Directors’ 
emoluments reduced to £0.87 million in 2012 
from £0.89 million in 2011.
The Group made an operating loss of £2.18 
million compared with an operating proﬁt of 
£0.50 million in 2011, resulting in the Group’s 
loss before tax of £2.20 million compared with 
a proﬁt before tax of £0.42 million in 2011. 
Development costs of £0.36 million were 
capitalised in 2012 (2011: £0.24 million). The net 
book value of capitalised development costs at 
the end of the year amounted to £1.31 million. 
Further development expenditure of £0.32 
million (2011: £0.34 million) was charged directly 
to proﬁt and loss. Capitalised development costs 
represent 9% of expenses as detailed above. 
Within the total amount of £1.31 million 
capitalised to date are: £0.48 million relating to 
Symphony Recycling Technologies; £0.25 million 
relating to d
2
w products which have been 
developed and are being sold; and the balance 
of £0.58 million, relating to further environmental 
plastic applications still in development, and 
where we believe signiﬁcant revenues will be 
generated in the foreseeable future. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
12
The Group reports a loss for the year of £2.22 
million with basic loss per share of 1.74 pence 
(2011: earnings per share 0.42 pence). 
The Group’s primary selling currency is the 
US Dollar. The Group hedges where possible 
by purchasing in US Dollars and has banking 
facilities in place in order to secure rates going 
forward. As at 31 December 2012 the Group 
had a net balance of US Dollar assets totalling 
$0.32 million (2011: $5.14 million). 
Segmental analysis
The Group operates two divisions which are 
classiﬁed as segments in the ﬁnancial report, 
being the Plastics division and the Recycling 
Technologies division. 
The Plastics division includes revenues 
associated with d
2
w, d
2
p and d
2
Detector, 
be they additives or ﬁnished products. The 
Plastics division, which currently makes up 
all Group revenues, saw d
2
w additive volumes 
decrease by 40% during the year with d
2
w 
revenues reducing to £4.94 million (2011: 
£8.54 million) due to delays in expected orders 
and changes in operating polices as stated 
above. This, together with the fall in gross 
margins and increased administrative 
expenses, resulted in an EBITDA loss of 
£1.75 million in 2012 compared to a proﬁt 
of £0.86 million in 2011. 
The Recycling Technologies division has no 
revenues to date and saw expenditure of 
£0.27 million for the year resulting in an 
EBITDA loss of the same amount (2011 
expenditure and EBITDA loss: £0.22 million).
Cashﬂow
The Group generated £0.45 million from 
operations (2011: cash consumed £0.19 
million). This was due to a change in operating 
policies which led to stricter stock and 
receivables controls within the distribution 
network. The Group has a £1 million trade 
ﬁnance facility with HSBC Bank plc which 
was drawn down to £0.22 million as at 
31 December 2012 (drawn down to £0.38 
million at 31 December 2011) which is used 
to manage Group working capital.
In addition to development costs detailed 
above, £0.04 million was invested in plant 
and equipment, representing continued 
investment in a development centre in Telford, 
UK, together with other laboratory equipment 
and facilities. A total of £0.06 million was 
spent on property, plant and equipment 
in 2012 (2011: £0.28 million).
Symphony Recycling Technologies 
The RuPERT tyre recycling project was 
successfully completed in December 2012. 
The Group continues to invest in and is 
actively pursuing commercial outlets. In early 
2013 we launched the SymTyre-S300 tyre 
reduction machine. We anticipate that this 
will generate revenues in the short term, 
and also open the way for commercialisation 
of future developments as and when they 
come on stream.
Outlook
2013 has started strongly with sales showing 
a 100% improvement from the same period 
last year. Our main established markets are 
reporting tight stock levels and steady to 
increasing sales momentum. The new 
markets for d
2
w have provided encouraging 
sales projections and marketing activity 
information. They have also started 
placing orders. 
The Pakistan legislation prohibiting plastics 
which are not oxo-biodegradable comes 
into effect in April 2013. This follows similar 
legislation previously passed in the United 
Arab Emirates and recently extended from 2 
products to 15. These changes to legislation 
are expected to be signiﬁcant, not only in 
terms of the local markets, which are 
Chief Executive’s Review 
(continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 13
Business review Governance Financial statements
material, but also for imported items which 
are packed in plastics. Other countries have 
either legislated in a similar way or are 
contemplating what action should be taken. 
As an example, Italy has draft legislation for 
a hydro-biodegradable product that conforms 
with the composting standard EN 13432. 
However, this draft decree itself says that 
it is “subject to the information procedure 
under Directive 98/34/EC and shall enter into 
force from the date of completion, with a 
favourable outcome, of the procedure itself, 
the date of which shall be announced in 
the Ofﬁcial Gazette.” It is our view that it 
is unlikely that there will be a favourable 
outcome. The European Commission sent on 
24 October 2012 a formal notice to the Italian 
Republic, in the framework of infringement 
procedure 2011/4030. The European 
Commission have conﬁrmed that Italy is 
in breach of not only Article 16 of Directive 
94/62/EC and Article 8 of Directive 98/34/EC, 
but also Article 18 of Directive 94/62/EC. 
Italy continues to use a d
2
w type oxo-
biodegradable products but in low volumes 
at this point in time. 
France is preparing law favourable to 
oxo-biodegradable products for retail plastic 
bags which would come into force January 
2014. Other European countries are also 
considering legislation.
As a result of growing global activity, we 
believe the legislation momentum for d
2
w 
type oxo-biodegradable technologies will 
increase, and we are ﬁnding more and 
more customers wanting to use the d
2
w 
brand as an answer to meet legislation 
requirements or just good CSR or marketing 
practice. We offer a free d
2
Detector testing 
service which is unique and not provided 
by others in the industry.
The United States Federal Trade Commission 
recently issued a statement which questioned 
the validity of hydro-biodegradable plastics 
(i.e. those made from food crop), such that 
they were not suitable for composting; this 
being the primary reason why hydro-
biodegradable products are sold.
In May 2012, Intertek published a life cycle 
assessment which showed that d
2
w oxo-
biodegradable plastics are 75% better than 
normal plastic when it comes to litter. In 
respect to litter, Keep America Beautiful issued 
a report where it concluded that “litter remains 
a pervasive problem”. Oxo-biodegradables are 
designed primarily to deal with littering.
All in all, the above shows an increasingly 
aware global market which is leaning towards 
d
2
w type oxo-biodegradable products.
Complementing d
2
w, we believe that our 
d
2
Detector will be an important tool for users 
of this type of technology as the consumer 
has no other means of identifying if a product 
really has d
2
w inside or not as it is invisible to 
the human eye. The d
2
p anti-microbial and 
anti-microbial technologies will also have 
an impact in 2013 and we are currently in 
discussions with a number of blue-chip 
companies regarding the commercial use 
in their products. There are also similar 
situations with our d
2
t anti-counterfeiting 
technologies.
With the improved trading position at the start 
of 2013, the Group is conﬁdent of a stronger 
ﬁnancial performance going forward, and are 
encouraged by the growing positive sentiment 
towards our products and technologies.
Michael Laurier
Chief Executive
26 March 2013
A bag containing d 2w masterbatch Data displayed on the d 2Detector screen shows a detailed 
analysis of the plastic Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
14
Our products
2
Plastic is lightweight, ﬂexible, 
strong, durable, heat sealable, 
impervious to moisture, 
recyclable and reusable, but 
whether by intent or accident, 
some plastic will always ﬁnd its 
way into the land environment 
and oceans, creating an eyesore 
and polluting the environment.
Added value with Symphony’s d
2
w
 >d
2
w requires a 1% inclusion rate only
 >d
2
w works with virgin and 
recycled plastic
 >d
2
w is compatible with PE, PP and PS
 >d
2
w does not require any change 
to the manufacturing process
 >d
2
w plastic will not just fragment, 
it will biodegrade
 >d
2
w plastic is non-toxic and safe for 
food contact
 >d
2
w plastic does not lose any of 
its original properties during its 
useful life
 >d
2
w is tested by test methods 
prescribed by the following:
 – British Standard 8472
 – US Standard ASTM D6954
 – United Arab Emirates Standard 
5009:2009
 – French Accord AFNOR T51-808
 – OECD 207 and 208
d
2
w is Symphony’s core product, being 
successful in global markets for over 
15 years. It is a masterbatch which, when 
included at the manufacturing stage, turns 
ordinary plastic at the end of its useful life, 
in the presence of oxygen, into a material 
with a different molecular structure. At the 
end of that process it is no longer a plastic 
and has become a material which will 
biodegrade in the open environment 
in the same way as a leaf.
Recent developments
Over the years many governments have 
realised the potential of oxo-biodegradable 
materials and its beneﬁts for the environment. 
Every year we have positive outcomes, and 
more legislation comes into force to ban 
regular plastic and allow only 
oxo-biodegradable plastic to be used for 
shopping bags and other short-life plastic 
products. The UAE was the ﬁrst country to 
legislate and they have announced that as 
from 1 January 2014 they will extend the 
range of plastic products that must be 
oxo-biodegradable. Pakistan has announced 
similar legislation as from 1 April 2013. In the 
Balkans, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro and 
Albania have recognised the beneﬁts of 
oxo-biodegradable plastic, as have several 
countries in Africa. In 2012 Intertek published 
“A Life Cycle Assessment of Oxo-biodegrdable, 
Compostable and Conventional Bags”, which 
showed that the environmental credentials 
of d
2
w plastics are ahead of bio-based and 
conventional plastics.  Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 15
Symphony’s 
anti-microbial family
Anti-bacterial
ab af
Anti-microbial
Anti-fungal/
Anti-algae
Business review Governance Financial statements
2
d
2
p anti-bacterial 
The threat of infection has increased as we 
live in denser urban populations. d
2
p is an 
anti-bacterial formulation that has been 
successfully tested against over 50 common 
organisms including dangerous bacteria 
such as MRSA, E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria, 
Pseudomonas and Aspergillus Niger. We 
have developed a d
2
p anti-bacterial system 
that provides an extra layer of protection 
against transmission of infection through 
contact with everyday plastic items. 
Designed as a masterbatch to be added 
at the manufacturing stage, the inorganic 
nature, small particle size, and high 
temperature tolerance of the active 
ingredient makes it ideal for use in 
a wide range of polymer processes. 
Added value with Symphony’s d
2
p 
anti-bacterial
 > Tried and tested silver-based 
technology
 > Fights healthcare and food industry 
infections
 > Tested to ISO 22196 and JIS Z 2801 to 
demonstrate its anti-bacterial efficacy
 > Helps prevent staining, discolouration 
and odour development
 > Addition rate of 1–2%
 > Compatible with PP , PE, PET, PS, PVC 
and most other plastics
d
2
p anti-fungal 
d
2
p anti-fungal is a unique formulation 
for plastic products, designed to prevent 
fungal contamination whilst preserving the 
aesthetic and functional properties of plastic 
products. The anti-fungal ingredient is used 
globally in a variety of applications. It acts to 
prevent growth of fungi, bacteria, mildew 
and algae that can cause discoloration, 
staining and odours, and which are a danger 
to human health. Produced as a masterbatch 
to be added at the manufacturing stage, 
it provides excellent resistance to fungi, 
bacteria and algae. 
Added value with Symphony’s d
2
p 
anti-fungal
 > Increase the shelf-life of fresh food
 > Reduce requirements for food 
preservatives
 > Inhibit mould growth on food and 
non-food applications
 > Addition rate of 1–2%
 > Compatible with most plastics
 > Tested by international testing 
methods such as ISO 16869:2008, 
ISO 22196:2011, prEN WD_algae, 
ASTM G21, ISO 846 Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
16
Our products
2 2 2
d
2
t – anti-counterfeiting systems
d
2
t masterbatches provide a unique trace 
that is added at the manufacturing stage 
of products and there is also a sophisticated 
forensic tagging system for high-value 
products. Symphony’s T ag and T race 
technologies give you the ability to accurately 
determine whether your plastic packaging 
and products are genuine – which gives 
you and your customers peace of mind.
d
2
trace
 >d
2
trace is a masterbatch tracer 
technology system which provides 
plastic with a unique identity
 > Added at a rate of only 1% at the 
manufacturing stage, d
2
trace is 
compatible with the vast majority 
of plastics
 > No change is required to the 
manufacturing process
 > The tracer can be easily read using 
Symphony’s portable d
2
Detector 
machine
d
2
tag
 >d
2
tag provides a sophisticated tracer 
solution using a microtag smaller 
than a grain of salt with over 1 billion 
unique codes. This provides detailed 
data reading, authentication and 
brand protection
 >d
2
tag is made of clear, high-purity silica 
and it carries product intelligence such 
as batch number, manufacturing date 
or similar information
 > Tags are biologically inert and edible 
and generally recognised as safe 
by FDA
 >d
2
tag has a low unit cost and offers 
great security 
d
2
Detector
In an increasingly competitive market, 
quality-control is of vital importance. 
d
2
Detector is an invaluable tool for analysing 
the chemical composition of plastics, for 
quality control and anti-counterfeiting. 
The d
2
Detector uses XRF technology and is 
perfectly designed to work with Symphony’s 
d
2
w, d
2
p and d
2
t technologies. The device 
is portable and can be easily transported 
as required.
Fast detection
 > Designed to detect speciﬁed 
masterbatches
 >A portable unit
 > Detects in less than 60 seconds
Brand protection
 > Quality control and brand protection 
are essential for any modern 
business
 >d
2
Detector is the world’s ﬁrst 
portable device that can be used 
to verify that plastic products are 
authentic and not inferior copies Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 17
Business review Governance Financial statements
Symphony has identiﬁed the 
disposal of scrap tyres as a 
major issue both at home in 
the UK and all over the world. 
We are asked to provide solutions for the 
billions of scrap tyres dumped around the 
world. There are currently over 10 billion scrap 
tyres around the world. Dumping, and failing 
to dispose of, scrap tyres can lead to an 
elevated danger of ﬁre, rodent infestation, and 
ground-pollution. Mosquitoes breeding in the 
water inside scrap tyres will spread Malaria, 
Dengue Western Nile fever, Filariasis, and 
other diseases. It is estimated that another 
1.5 billion tyres become scrap every year. 
Scrap tyres also take up a vast amount of 
space in workshops, garages and in transit, 
and are an unsightly and unproductive use of 
land. They are often disposed of illegally and 
most of them cannot and should not be put 
into landﬁlls. A solution has to be found. 
SymTyre-S300
Symphony has announced the 
SymTyre-S300 – a machine that can reduce 
a scrap-tyre into ﬂat-pack components 
within 60 seconds. The machine is portable 
and could be placed in any garage, 
workshop, tyre dump or depot.
SymTyre-S300 is a ﬁrst step. Symphony 
Recycling Technologies has also been 
developing further value-added processes 
with Imperial College London, Cobham 
Microwave, Artis, ABB, and Hughes Pumps. 
The project was funded by the UK government 
to investigate ways of creating valuable 
products from scrap tyres. It was successfully 
completed at the end of 2012 and 
commercialisation is now in progress.
SymTyre-S300 – Symphony’s tyre-cutting machine Tyre mountains are unsightly and dangerous Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
18
Corporate Social Responsibility
For Symphony, as an environmental technology 
company, sustainable development is an 
important matter. This means that we combine 
long-term economic objectives with social 
responsibility and environmental protection. 
Dealing with chemicals and masterbatches 
we are often questioned on how we meet this 
challenge. We have established our potential 
risks, and the challenge is in a continuous 
communication with our stakeholders. 
At Symphony we believe that our long-term 
future and proﬁtability depend on our 
environmental, technical and social 
performance. Excellence in operational 
performance generates ﬁnancial returns, 
while being a responsible global citizen earns 
the continued support of our customers, 
shareholders, communities and staff. 
We have established goals that the company 
and its people are trying to achieve daily. We 
understand that in today’s world it is difﬁcult 
to be a responsible individual, and even more 
difﬁcult to implement change towards 
a better future. It is essential to establish 
best practices, support individual ambitions, 
and strengthen the relationships with our 
communities around the world. 
Last year, we completed the long and rigorous 
process leading to Symphony’s accreditation 
to the environmental standard ISO 14001, 
which complements our existing accreditation 
to ISO 9001 for Quality Management. We 
made a commitment to low-energy lighting, 
Participants of the YES course in Koštunići, Serbia
Symphony’s marketing executive, Nina Kerkez, giving a talk 
about d 2w
T otally committed 
to best practice Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 19
Business review Governance Financial statements
and equipping our ofﬁces and laboratories 
with environmentally-friendly supplies. We 
promote paperless administration and work 
on the best practice document-management 
systems. We are committed to recycling of 
materials following the “reduce, reuse and 
recycle” principles. In addition, we have 
engaged most of our businesses in ﬁnding 
solutions for the world’s environmental 
problems, making us a responsible citizen 
of the world. 
We provide a nurturing business environment 
which offers our employees and distributors 
the ability to continuously develop their 
competences. We believe that education is 
essential, no matter the age, and we work 
on educational development of our people 
and the people of the world. 
Partnering for change
Symphony is proud to be a leader in advanced 
technologies that add to sustainable future. 
We are open and we always welcome 
collaboration with our suppliers, customers, 
communities, governments and civil society. 
We build relations with academic institutions, 
governments, NGOs and industry associations. 
With our strong commitment to the quality 
of life of future generations, we have engaged, 
for example, with Environmental Engineering 
Group, an NGO based in Serbia. For the second 
year we continue our successful cooperation, 
with a focus on raising awareness about 
environmental issues of today. 
Case study
Youth Encounter 
on Sustainability – 
Symphony and EEG
In July Symphony participated in an 
educational workshop at the Youth 
Encounter on Sustainability (YES) 
course in Koštunići, Serbia.
The YES course is an international 
programme which has been organised 
yearly in different countries for 12 
consecutive years. The course is held 
thanks to the cooperation of MIT University 
from the USA, ETH University from Zurich, 
Chalmers University from Sweden and the 
University of Tokyo. This is the second time 
that the YES course has been held in Serbia 
– with the cooperation of Environmental 
Engineering Group from Serbia and ACTIS 
from Switzerland.
Young professionals from all over the 
world whose work is focused on development 
and sustainability attended classes and 
workshops and met with government 
ofﬁcials. There were 27 participants 
from 16 countries – Australia, Bangladesh, 
India, Pakistan, Serbia, France, Finland, USA, 
Colombia, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Iran, 
Moldavia, Vietnam and Jordan. Symphony led 
a seminar discussing environmental issues, 
focusing on oxo-biodegradable plastic as a 
way to reduce the problem of plastic litter 
which can accumulate in the environment for 
decades. The participants were very pleased 
to learn about this exciting technology and 
will contribute to developing environmental 
solutions for their own countries. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
20
Board of Directors
14
2
3
5
6
Interlocking 
strengths Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 21
Business review Governance Financial statements
1. Nirj Deva, DL, FRSA, MEP
Non-Executive Chairman
Mr. Deva has been a Member of the European 
Parliament since 1999 and is Vice-chairman 
of the Parliament’s International Development 
Committee. He is also Chairman of the 
EU-China Friendship Group. From 1992–97 he 
was a member of the UK Parliament. He has 
held a number of senior political appointments 
and has advised the boards of a number of 
public companies including International 
Leisure Group, Air Europe Plc, Tricentrol Oil Co 
Plc, EDS, Television South West, Thomas Howell 
Group, John Laing Plc, Aitken Spence, and 
Rothmans International Plc.
2. Michael Stephen, LL.M 
Deputy Chairman
Michael Stephen is Commercial Director and 
Deputy Chairman of the Plc, and Chairman 
of its subsidiary companies. He qualiﬁed as 
a Solicitor with Distinction in Company Law. 
He was called to the Bar, and practised from 
chambers in London for many years, dealing 
with civil cases in the High Court and Court 
of Appeal. He was a member of the UK 
Parliament 1992–97 and was a member of the 
Environment Select Committee of the House 
of Commons. He served in Government as 
Parliamentary Private Secretary at the Ministry 
of Agriculture. He held a Harkness Fellowship 
in law at Stanford and Harvard Universities in 
the USA, and was Deputy Legal Adviser to the 
British Ambassador to the United Nations.
3. Michael Laurier 
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
Michael is the Chief Executive of the 
Company. Michael’s career began with his 
long established family packaging business, 
Brentwood Sack and Bag Co Limited. He took 
over responsibility for sales and production in 
the mid-1970s and changed the emphasis of 
the company’s business from jute products 
to polythene packaging, introducing the then 
innovative high density and medium density 
polythene bags into the UK market in 1975.
He was appointed Managing Director of 
Brentapac UK Plc, which formerly owned 
the Tuffy trademark, in 1985, with continuing 
responsibility for national and international 
sales. He co-founded Symphony Plastics in 1995.
4. Ian Bristow, FCCA 
Finance Director and Company Secretary
Ian was in private practice for seven years, 
qualifying as a certiﬁed accountant in 1992. 
In 1994, he joined Brentapac UK Plc until it 
was sold in 1994. He went on to co-found 
Symphony Plastics in 1995.
5. Michael F Stephens 
Technical Director
Michael began his career with Excelsior Plastics 
Limited, a division of Unigate, progressing over 
a period of ten years to sales director. Leaving 
in 1981, he worked for Sempol Products, 
Autobar Group and ACP Plastics (a subsidiary 
of S P Metal Group), all manufacturers of 
packaging ﬁlms. In 1988, Michael founded 
Skymark Packaging International Limited, 
serving the snack food, bakery, mail wrap, 
paper disposable markets, which he left in 
November 1997 to join Symphony. Michael 
is a member of the British Standards Institute 
packaging committee and a member of 
the European Standards Committees for 
degradable agricultural and packaging ﬁlms.
6. Nicolas Clavel
Non-Executive Director
Nicolas Clavel started his career in international 
banking in the mid-seventies and his area of 
expertise has been structured trade ﬁnance 
and equity investments with a particular focus 
on Emerging Markets. He is Chief Investment 
Ofﬁcer of Scipion Capital Ltd., (the Investment 
Manager of Scipion African Opportunities Fund 
SPC) and is personally CF 1, 3, 11 and CF 30 
approved by the UK Financial Services 
Authority. Nicolas is Swiss, and is based in 
London and Geneva. He is ﬂuent in English, 
French, Italian and German. Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
22
The Directors present their report and the audited ﬁnancial statements of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2012. 
Principal activities and business review
The primary business activities of the Group are the development and supply of environmental plastic products to a global market, 
and the development of waste to value projects. The Group also supplies other ﬂexible polythene and related products.
A review of the business and future developments is given in the Chairman’s Statement and Chief Executive’s Review.
The loss for the year after taxation amounted to £2,224,000 (2011: proﬁt £520,000).
Results and dividends
The trading results for the year and the Group’s ﬁnancial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached ﬁnancial statements.
The Directors have not recommended a dividend.
Key performance indicators
The Directors have monitored the progress of the overall Group strategy by reference to certain ﬁnancial and non-ﬁnancial key 
performance indicators.
Key performance indicator 2012 2011 Method of calculation
Sales d
2
w (£’000) 4,938 8,414 Sales revenue solely of d
2
w additives and products.
Gross proﬁt margin (%) 44% 54% The ratio of gross proﬁt to sales.
Number of distributors 72 67 The number of distribution agreements signed.
These are discussed within the Chairman’s Statement and Chief Executive’s Review.
Research and development
The Group is involved in the research and development of environmental plastic products, and waste to value systems.
The Directors and their interests
The Directors who served during the year and their interests in the shares of the Company are shown in the Remuneration Report.
Policy on the payment of creditors
It is the Group’s policy to settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of the transaction and to ensure that suppliers 
are aware of these terms and abide by them. Trade payables at the year end amount to 112 days (2011: 86) of average supplies for the year 
for the Group and 17 days (2011: 57) for the Company. 
Principal risks and uncertainties
The Directors have identiﬁed and continually monitor the principal risks and uncertainties of the Group. These may change over time as new 
risks emerge and others cease to be of concern. The principal risks of the Group are detailed below.
Foreign exchange risk
The Group sells products in many countries and so generates revenues in US Dollars and Euros. Foreign exchange rates ﬂuctuate and, 
as such, assets created in foreign currencies are liable to constant revaluations into their Sterling equivalent. The Group mitigates this 
risk by purchasing, where practicable, in currencies to match revenues. The Group also has exchange facilities with its bank to use as 
and when appropriate.
Competition risk
The Group faces competition from suppliers of similar products which could affect revenues and/or gross margins. The Group mitigates 
this risk by employing a large number of distributors globally who can concentrate on any competition issues within their market, 
and also by differentiating the Group’s products by branding and marketing activities.
Raw material pricing and availability
The Group uses commodity and speciality materials in the make-up of its products. There is a risk of price volatility and material availability. 
The Group mitigates this risk by using more than one supplier of its products and continually researching separate supply alternatives for 
the materials used.
Directors’ Report Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 23
Directors’ responsibilities statement
The Directors are responsible for preparing the Directors’ Report 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 International Financial Reporting Standards as adopted by the European Union (IFRSs). 
The parent Company’s own ﬁnancial statements continue to be prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting 
Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable laws). 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 and proﬁt or loss of the Company and 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;
 state whether applicable IFRSs or UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and 
explained in the ﬁnancial statements; and
 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 transactions 
and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the ﬁnancial position of the Company 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 hence for 
taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Directors conﬁrm that: 
 so far as each Director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Company’s auditor is unaware; and
 the Directors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken as Directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
The Directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and ﬁnancial information included on the Company’s 
website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of ﬁnancial statements may differ from legislation 
in other jurisdictions. 
Going concern
The Group incurred losses during the year and its cash reserves have fallen since the end of the previous year. During the year, the Group 
changed its operating procedures so as to accelerate cashﬂows generated from revenues by way of improving letter of credit or proforma 
based business. During the year £0.45 million was generated from operations. In addition, revenues were reduced in 2012 due to over-
stocking within the distribution network in the previous year. With stocks within the distribution network now much lower, revenues for 2013 
have started at a higher rate than they did in 2012. Taking into account the above, the cashﬂow forecast that management has prepared 
for the ensuing twelve months where a forecast increase in sales will lead to increased cash through the invoice discount facility, and the 
banking facilities in place, the Directors are of the opinion that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing 
these ﬁnancial statements.
Corporate governance
The Group is committed to developing and adhering to high standards of corporate governance. As an AIM listed company it is not required 
to comply with the UK Corporate Governance Code as issued by the UK’s Listing Authority. However, it seeks to follow the principles of good 
governance as far as management believes it is practical for a Group of its size, nature and circumstances. 
Financial risk management policies
The Group’s ﬁnancial risk management policies are detailed in note 3 to the ﬁnancial statements.
Auditor
A resolution to appoint Grant Thornton UK LLP as auditor for the ensuing year will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD
I Bristow 
Company Secretary 
26 March 2013
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
24
Directors’ emoluments 
2012 2011
Basic  
salary or 
fees  
£’000
Beneﬁts 
£’000
Pension 
£’000
Total 
Emoluments 
£’000
Total 
Emoluments 
£’000
N Deva 51 – – 51 51
M Laurier 226 4 24 254 253
I Bristow 155 4 15 174 173
M Stephen 171 10 – 181 179
M F Stephens 182 9 (11) 180 203
N Clavel 34 – – 34 34
819 27 28 874 893
The Directors’ pensions, where applicable, are administered by those Directors. 
The Company has taken out insurance for its ofﬁcers against liabilities in relation to the Company under Section 233 of the 
Companies Act 2006.
Directors’ interests
The Directors in ofﬁce at the end of the year, together with their beneﬁcial interests in the shares of the Company, were as follows:
Ordinary Shares of £0.01 each
At  
31 December  
2012
At  
1 January  
2012 
N Deva 313,925 290,425
M Laurier 15,360,600 15,175,600
I Bristow 1,063,925 1,063,925
M Stephen 615,998 490,998
M F Stephens 311,294 311,294
N Clavel 500,000 350,000
Share options
The following Directors have share options or agreements for share options:
Number  
of share  
options
Exercise price 
(pence per 
share) Exercisable from Exercisable to
N Deva 1,500,000 4.500 26 November 2008 26 November 2018
N Deva 250,000 9.875 18 December 2010 18 December 2019
M Laurier 1,851,500 4.500 26 November 2008 26 November 2018
M Laurier 350,000 9.125 31 March 2010 30 March 2020
I Bristow 3,000,000 4.500 26 November 2008 26 November 2018
I Bristow 280,000 9.125 31 March 2010 30 March 2020
M Stephen 1,200,000 6.250 28 April 2007 28 April 2017
M Stephen 2,000,000 4.500 26 November 2008 26 November 2018
M Stephen 210,000 9.125 31 March 2010 30 March 2020
M F Stephens 210,000 9.125 31 March 2010 30 March 2020
N Clavel 500,000 4.500 16 October 2009 16 October 2018
N Clavel 250,000 9.875 18 December 2010 18 December 2019
The above share options are HM Revenue and Customs unapproved. See note 18 to the ﬁnancial statements for the terms of the above options.
Remuneration Report Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 25
We have audited the ﬁnancial statements of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc for the year ended 31 December 2012 which 
comprise the consolidated statement of comprehensive income, consolidated statement of ﬁnancial position, the consolidated statement 
of changes in equity, the consolidated cash ﬂow statement, the parent Company balance sheet and the related notes. The ﬁnancial reporting 
framework that has been applied in the preparation of the Group ﬁnancial statements is applicable law and International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union. The ﬁnancial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the parent 
Company ﬁnancial statements is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice).
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 an auditor’s report 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.
Respective responsibilities of Directors and auditor
As explained more fully in the Directors’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page 23, the Directors are responsible for the preparation 
of the ﬁnancial statements and for being satisﬁed that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit and express an opinion 
on the ﬁnancial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards 
require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s (APB’s) Ethical Standards for Auditors.
Scope of the audit of the ﬁnancial statements
A description of the scope of an audit of ﬁnancial statements is provided on the APB’s website at www.frc.org.uk/apb/scope/private.cfm.
Opinion on ﬁnancial statements
In our opinion:
 the ﬁnancial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the Group’s and of the parent Company’s affairs as at 31 December 2012 
and of the Group’s loss for the year then ended; 
 the Group ﬁnancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union;
 the parent Company ﬁnancial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted 
Accounting Practice; and
 the ﬁnancial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Separate opinion in relation to IFRSs as issued by the IASB
As explained in note 2 to the Group ﬁnancial statements, the Group, in addition to complying with its legal obligation to apply 
IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, has also applied IFRSs as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
In our opinion the Group ﬁnancial statements comply with IFRSs as issued by the IASB.
Opinion on other matter prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion the information given in the Directors’ Report for the ﬁnancial year for which the ﬁnancial statements are prepared 
is consistent with the ﬁnancial statements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
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.
Simon Jones
Senior Statutory Auditor
for and on behalf of Grant Thornton UK LLP
Statutory Auditor, Chartered Accountants
Central Milton Keynes
26 March 2013
Independent Auditor’s Report to the members 
of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
26
Note
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Revenue 5 4,938 8,542
Cost of sales (2,785) (3,956)
Gross proﬁt 2,153 4,586
Distribution costs (125) (180)
Administrative expenses 6 (4,211) (3,902)
Operating (loss)/proﬁt 6 (2,183) 504
Finance income 8 6 2
Finance costs 8 (20) (90)
(Loss)/proﬁt for the year before tax (2,197) 416
Taxation 9 (27) 104
(Loss)/proﬁt for the year (2,224) 520
Total comprehensive income for the year (2,224) 520
Basic (loss)/earnings per share 10 (1.74)p 0.42p
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share 10 (1.74)p 0.37p
All results are attributable to the parent Company equity holders. There were no discontinued operations for either of the above periods.
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
for the year ended 31 December 2012 Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 27
Note
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Assets
Non-current
Property, plant and equipment 11 499 586
Intangible assets 12 1,334 1,002
Deferred income tax asset 9a 1,216 1,277
Available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets 14 – 15
3,049 2,880
Current
Inventories 15 637 399
Trade and other receivables 16 806 3,782
Cash at bank and in hand 17 336 291
1,779 4,472
Total assets 4,828 7,352
Equity
Equity attributable to shareholders of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc
Ordinary shares 18 1,280 1,278
Share premium 18 1,648 1,646
Retained earnings 18 205 2,412
Total equity 3,133 5,336
Liabilities
Non-current
Interest bearing loans and borrowings 20 20 31
20 31
Current
Interest bearing loans and borrowings 20 509 518
Trade and other payables 19 1,166 1,467
1,675 1,985
Total liabilities 1,695 2,016
Total equity and liabilities 4,828 7,352
These ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 26 March 2013 and authorised for issue on 26 March 2013. They were 
signed on its behalf by:
I Bristow FCCA
Finance Director
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 
as at 31 December 2012
Company number 3676824
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
28
Share  
capital  
£’000
Share 
premium 
£’000
Retained 
earnings 
£’000
Total  
equity  
£’000
For the year to 31 December 2012
Balance at 1 January 2012 1,278 1,646 2,412 5,336
Issue of share capital 22 –4
Share-based options – – 17 17
Transactions with owners 2 2 17 21
Loss and total comprehensive income for the year – – (2,224) (2,224)
Balance at 31 December 2012 1,280 1,648 205 3,133
For the year to 31 December 2011
Balance at 1 January 2011 1,173 17 1,863 3,053
Issue of share capital 105 1,629 – 1,734
Share-based options – – 29 29
Transactions with owners 105 1,629 29 1,763
Proﬁt and total comprehensive income for the year – – 520 520
Balance at 31 December 2011 1,278 1,646 2,412 5,336
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
for the year ended 31 December 2012
Equity attributable to the equity holders of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc: Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 29
Note
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Operating activities
Net cash generated/(used) from operations 21 414 (194)
Tax received 34 7
Net cash generated/(used) from operating activities 448 (187)
Investing activities
Additions to property, plant and equipment (59) (280)
Proceeds from disposals of property, plant and equipment 14 44
Additions to intangible assets (361) (247)
Net cash used in investing activities (406) (483)
Financing activities
Repayment of loans – (750)
Movement in working capital facility (163) 327
New ﬁnance leases – 4 
Discharge of ﬁnance lease liability (25) (14)
Proceeds from share issue 4 1,734
Interest paid (20) (90)
Net cash (used)/generated in ﬁnancial activities (204) 1,211
Net change in cash and cash equivalents (162) 541
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year 180 (361)
Exchange gain/(loss) 39 –
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year 57 180
The reconciliation to the cash and cash equivalents as reported in the statement of ﬁnancial position is as follows:
Note
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Loans and receivables:
 Cash at bank and in hand 17 336 291
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost:
 Bank overdraft 20 (279) (111)
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year 57 180
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements. 
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
for the year ended 31 December 2012
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
30
1 General information
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc (“the Company”) and subsidiaries (together “the Group”) develop and supply environmental 
plastic additives and products, and develop waste to value systems.
The Company, a public limited company, is the Group’s ultimate parent company. It is incorporated and domiciled in England (Company 
number 3676824). The address of its registered ofﬁce is 6 Elstree Gate, Elstree Way, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, WD6 1JD, England. 
The Company’s shares are listed on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange and as a level 1 ADR in New York.
2 Summary of signiﬁcant accounting policies
These consolidated ﬁnancial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of International Financial Reporting 
Standards (IFRS) as adopted by the European Union, issued and effective or issued as at 31 December 2012, and also comply with IFRS 
as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). 
The accounting policies have remained unchanged from the previous year. 
Going concern 
The Group incurred losses during the year and its cash reserves have fallen since the end of the previous year. During the year, the Group 
changed its operating procedures so as to accelerate cashﬂows generated from revenues by way of improving letter of credit or proforma 
based business. During the year £0.45 million was generated from operations. In addition, revenues were reduced in 2012 due to 
over-stocking within the distribution network in the previous year. With stocks within the distribution network now much lower, revenues 
for 2013 have started at a higher rate than they did in 2012. Taking into account the above, the cashﬂow forecast that management has 
prepared for the ensuing twelve months where a forecast increase in sales will lead to increased cash through the invoice discount facility, 
and the banking facilities in place, the Directors are of the opinion that it is appropriate to continue to adopt the going concern basis in 
preparing these ﬁnancial statements.
Business combinations completed prior to date of transition to IFRS
The Group has not restated business combinations which took place prior to the date of transition to IFRS.
Accordingly, the classiﬁcation of the combination remains unchanged from that used under UK GAAP. The assets and liabilities 
are recognised at date of transition, and are measured using their United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) 
carrying amount.
Business combinations exemption
The Group ﬁnancial statements consolidate the ﬁnancial statements of the Company and all subsidiary undertakings. 
The acquisition of Symphony Environmental Limited (formerly Symphony Plastics Limited) on 9 December 1999 was accounted for 
under merger accounting under UK GAAP and has been treated in this manner under IFRS as the business combination exemption has 
been adopted in these Annual Report and Accounts. The merger accounting method requires assets and liabilities to not be adjusted to 
fair value and the results of the subsidiary to be included as if it had always been part of the Group. Therefore, the results of the Group 
include both the results pre and post-acquisition. 
Segment reporting 
In identifying its operating segments, management generally follows the Group’s service lines which represent the main products and 
services provided by the Group.
There are currently two service lines, “Plastics” and “Recycling Technologies (Recycling Tech)”. The Plastics service line includes all activities 
in relation to the sale of plastic products and their associated items. This includes the sale of plastic degradable additives, ﬁnished goods, 
non-degradable products and d
2
Detectors. The Recycling Technologies segment includes all activities involved in the development of tyre 
and rubber recycling systems.
Each of the operating segments is managed separately as each of these service lines requires different technologies and other resources 
as well as marketing approaches. All inter-segments transfers are carried out at arm’s length prices.
The measurement policies the Group uses for segment reporting under IFRS 8 are the same as those used in its ﬁnancial statements, except 
that one-off costs such as post-employment beneﬁt expenses are not included in arriving at the operating proﬁt of the operating segments. 
In addition, corporate assets which are not directly attributable to the business activities of any operating segment are not allocated to 
a segment. In the ﬁnancial periods under review, this primarily applies to available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets held by the Group.
Segment information is presented in accordance with IFRS 8 for all periods presented. IFRS 8 only requires disclosure of segment information. 
 
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 31
Revenue
Degradable and non-degradable goods, and associated products (plastics segment) 
Revenue is stated at the fair value of the consideration receivable and excludes VAT and trade discounts.
Revenue from the sale of goods is recognised when all of the following conditions have been satisﬁed:
a)  ownership of the signiﬁcant risks and rewards has been transferred to the buyer whereby the Group relies on INCOTERMs (a series 
of pre-deﬁned commercial terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce) to assess this;
b) the amount of revenue can be measured effectively whereby the Group sells goods after receipt of conﬁrmed orders;
c) it is probable that the economic beneﬁts associated with the transaction will ﬂow to the entity; and
d) the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be measured reliably.
Intangible assets
Research and development costs
Expenditure on research (or the research phase of an internal project) is recognised as an expense in the period in which it is incurred. 
Development costs incurred on speciﬁc projects are capitalised when all the following conditions are satisﬁed:
 completion of the intangible asset is technically feasible so that it will be available for use or sale;
 the Group intends to complete the intangible asset and use or sell it;
 the Group has the ability to use or sell the intangible asset;
 the intangible asset will generate probable future economic beneﬁts. Among other things, this requires that there is a market for the output 
from the intangible asset or for the intangible asset itself, or, if it is to be used internally, the asset will be used in generating such beneﬁts;
 there are adequate technical, ﬁnancial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the intangible asset; and
 the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development can be measured reliably.
Development costs not meeting the criteria for capitalisation are expensed as incurred.
The cost of an internally generated intangible asset comprises all directly attributable costs necessary to create, produce, and prepare the 
asset to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management. The nature of the Group’s activities in the ﬁeld of development 
work renders some internally generated intangible assets unable to meet the above criteria at present.
Amortisation commences upon completion of the asset and is shown within administrative expenses and is included at the following rate:
d
2
w and other additives – 15 years straight line 
Careful judgement by the Directors is applied when deciding whether the recognition requirements for development costs have been met. 
This is necessary as the economic success of any product development is uncertain and may be subject to future technical problems at the 
time of recognition. Judgements are based on the information available at each balance sheet date. 
Trademarks
Trademarks represent the cost of registration and are carried at cost less amortisation.
Amortisation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that 
asset as follows:
Trademarks – 10 years straight line
Property, plant and equipment
Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that 
asset as follows:
Plant and machinery – 20% reducing balance
Fixtures and ﬁttings – 25% reducing balance
Fixtures and ﬁttings Elstree Gate – 10% straight line
Motor vehicles – 20% reducing balance
Ofﬁce equipment – 25% straight line
The residual value and useful economic lives are reconsidered annually.
Impairment testing of intangible assets and property, plant and equipment
For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identiﬁable cash ﬂows 
(cash-generating units). As a result, some assets are tested individually for impairment and some are tested at cash-generating unit level. 
Those intangible assets not yet available for use are tested for impairment at least annually. All other individual assets or cash-generating 
units are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.
An impairment loss is recognised for the amount by which the asset’s or cash-generating unit’s carrying amount exceeds its recoverable 
amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of fair value, reﬂecting market conditions less costs to sell, and value in use based on an 
internal discounted cash ﬂow evaluation. All assets are subsequently reassessed for indications that an impairment loss previously 
recognised may no longer exist.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
32
2 Summary of signiﬁcant accounting policies (continued)
Inventories
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items. 
Cost is determined on the basis of purchase value on a ﬁrst-in ﬁrst-out basis.
Leased assets
In accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 17, the economic ownership of a leased asset is transferred to the lessee if the 
lessee bears substantially all the risks and rewards related to the ownership of the leased asset. The related asset is recognised at the time 
of inception of the lease at the fair value of the leased asset or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments plus incidental 
payments, if any, to be borne by the lessee. A corresponding amount is recognised as a ﬁnance leasing liability. The interest element of leasing 
payments represents a constant proportion of the capital balance outstanding and is charged to proﬁt or loss over the period of the lease.
All other leases are regarded as operating leases and the payments made under them are charged to proﬁt or loss on a straight line basis 
over the lease term. Lease incentives are spread over the term of the lease.
Pension costs
The Group operates a deﬁned contribution pension scheme for employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those 
of the Group. The pension costs charged against proﬁts are the contributions payable to the scheme in respect of the accounting period.
Taxation
Current tax is the tax currently payable based on taxable proﬁt for the year.
Deferred income taxes are calculated using the liability method on temporary differences. Deferred tax is generally provided on the 
difference between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. Tax losses available to be carried forward as well 
as other income tax credits to the Group are assessed for recognition as deferred tax assets.
Deferred tax liabilities are provided in full, with no discounting. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that the 
underlying deductible temporary differences will be able to be offset against future taxable income. Current and deferred tax assets and 
liabilities are calculated at tax rates that are expected to apply to their respective period of realisation, provided they are enacted or 
substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
Changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in proﬁt or loss, except where they either relate 
to items that are charged or credited directly to equity in which case the related deferred tax is also charged or credited directly to equity, 
or where they relate to items charged or credited in other comprehensive income the deferred tax change is recognised in other 
comprehensive income.
Foreign currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. 
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Exchange 
differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating result.
Financial assets
Financial assets are divided into the following categories: loans and receivables, and available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets. Financial assets 
are assigned to the different categories by management on initial recognition, depending on the purpose for which they were acquired. 
All ﬁnancial assets are recognised when the Group becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument. Financial assets are 
initially recognised at fair value plus transaction costs. 
The Group currently has the following ﬁnancial assets:
Trade receivables
Trade receivables are categorised as loans and receivables. Trade receivables are non-derivative ﬁnancial assets with ﬁxed or determinable 
payments that are not quoted in an active market. Trade receivables are measured subsequent to initial recognition at amortised cost using 
the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. Any change in their value through impairment or reversal of impairment is 
recognised in proﬁt or loss.
Provision against trade receivables is made when there is objective evidence that the Group will not be able to collect all amounts due to it in 
accordance with the original terms of those receivables. The amount of the write-down is determined as the difference between the asset’s 
carrying amount and the present value of estimated future cash ﬂows.
Available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets
Available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets are non-derivative ﬁnancial assets that are either designated to this category or do not qualify for 
inclusion in any of the other categories of ﬁnancial assets. The Group’s available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets are the equity investments 
in Bin Hilal LLC, American Plastic Technologies LLC and Oxobioplast Inc.
The equity investments in Bin Hilal LLC, American Plastic Technologies LLC and Oxobioplast Inc. are measured at cost less any impairment 
charges, as their fair values cannot currently be estimated reliably. Impairment charges are recognised in proﬁt or loss.
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 33
An assessment for impairment is undertaken at least at each balance sheet date.
A ﬁnancial asset is derecognised only where the contractual rights to the cash ﬂows from the asset expire or the ﬁnancial asset is transferred 
and that transfer qualiﬁes for derecognition. A ﬁnancial asset is transferred if the contractual rights to receive the cash ﬂows of the asset 
have been transferred or the Group retains the contractual rights to receive the cash ﬂows of the asset but assumes a contractual obligation 
to pay the cash ﬂows to one or more recipients. A ﬁnancial asset that is transferred qualiﬁes for derecognition if the Group transfers 
substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset, or if the Group neither retains nor transfers substantially all the risks 
and rewards of ownership but does transfer control of that asset.
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand and demand deposits, together with other short-term, highly liquid investments that 
are readily convertible into known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insigniﬁcant risk of changes in value.
Finance lease receivables
Goods sold under ﬁnance leases are recognised as a sale on date of the ﬁnance lease agreement or if later, when substantially all the risks 
and rewards of ownership of the asset have passed to the lessee. The capital element of future lessee obligations is included in assets in the 
statement of ﬁnancial position.
The interest elements of the rental obligations are credited to proﬁt and loss over the periods of the leases and represent a constant 
proportion of the balance of capital repayments outstanding.
Rentals receivable under operating leases are credited to proﬁt and loss on a straight line basis over the lease term.
Financial liabilities
Financial liabilities are obligations to pay cash or other ﬁnancial assets and are recognised when the Group becomes a party to the 
contractual provisions of the instrument. 
The Group’s ﬁnancial liabilities include trade payables, other payables, bank overdraft, bank loans and other loans. These are classiﬁed 
as ﬁnancial liabilities measured at amortised cost.
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost are initially recognised at fair values net of direct issue costs. 
Finance charges are charged to proﬁt and loss, where applicable, on an accruals basis using the effective interest method and are added 
to the carrying amount of the instrument to the extent they are not settled in the period in which they arose.
A ﬁnancial liability is derecognised only when the obligation is extinguished, that is, when the obligation is discharged or cancelled or expires.
Equity settled share-based payments
All share-based payment arrangements granted after 7 November 2002 that had not vested prior to 1 January 2007 are recognised in the 
ﬁnancial statements.
All goods and services received in exchange for the grant of any share-based payment are measured at their fair values. Where employees 
are rewarded using share-based payments, the fair values of the instrument granted are determined using the Black-Scholes model. This fair 
value is appraised at the grant date. The fair value is charged to proﬁt and loss between the date of issue and the date the share options vest 
with a corresponding credit taken to equity.
Equity
Equity comprises the following:
 “Share capital” represents the nominal value of equity shares;
 “Share premium” represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value of consideration received for equity shares, net of expenses 
of the share issue; and
 “Retained earnings” represents non distributed reserves.
Standards and interpretations not yet effective
At the date of authorisation of these ﬁnancial statements, certain new standards, amendments and interpretations to existing standards 
have been published but are not yet effective, and have not been adopted early by the Group.
Management anticipates that all of the pronouncements will be adopted in the Group’s accounting policy for the ﬁrst period beginning after 
the effective date of the pronouncement. Information on new standards, amendments and interpretations that are expected to be relevant 
to the Group’s ﬁnancial statements is provided below. Certain other new standards and interpretations have been issued but are not 
expected to have a material impact on the Group’s ﬁnancial statements.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
34
2 Summary of signiﬁcant accounting policies (continued)
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (effective from 1 January 2015)
The IASB aims to replace IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement in its entirety with the replacement standard to be 
effective for annual periods beginning 1 January 2015. IFRS 9 is the ﬁrst part of Phase 1 of this project. The main phases are:
Phase 1: Classiﬁcation and Measurement
Phase 2: Impairment methodology
Phase 3: Hedge accounting
In addition, a separate project is dealing with derecognition. Management have yet to assess the impact that this amendment is likely to 
have on the ﬁnancial statements of the Group. However, they do not expect to implement the amendments until all chapters of the IAS 39 
replacement have been published and they can comprehensively assess the impact of all changes.
Consolidation Standards 
A package of consolidation standards are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013. Information on these new 
standards is presented below. 
- IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements (IFRS 10) 
IFRS 10 supersedes IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements (IAS 27) and SIC 12 Consolidation – Special Purpose Entities. 
It revised the deﬁnition of control together with accompanying guidance to identify an interest in a subsidiary. However, the requirements 
and mechanics of consolidation and the accounting for any non-controlling interests and changes in control remain the same. 
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements (IFRS 11) 
IFRS 11 supersedes IAS 31 Interests in Joint Ventures (IAS 31). It aligns more closely the accounting by the investors with their rights and 
obligations relating to the joint arrangement. In addition, IAS 31’s option of using proportionate consolidation for joint ventures has been 
eliminated. IFRS 11 now requires the use of the equity accounting method, which is currently used for investments in associates. 
- IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities (IFRS 12) 
IFRS 12 integrates and makes consistent the disclosure requirements for various types of investments, including unconsolidated structured 
entities. It introduces new disclosure requirements about the risks to which an entity is exposed from its involvement with 
structured entities. 
- Consequential amendments to IAS 27 and IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures (IAS 28) 
IAS 27 now only deals with separate ﬁnancial statements. IAS 28 brings investments in joint ventures into its scope. However, IAS 28’s equity 
accounting methodology remains unchanged. 
IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement (IFRS 13) 
IFRS 13 does not affect which items are required to be fair-valued, but clariﬁes the deﬁnition of fair value and provides related guidance and 
enhanced disclosures about fair value measurements. It is applicable for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013.
The Group’s management have yet to assess the impact of these new standards.
3 Financial risk management
The main risks arising from the Group’s ﬁnancial instruments are liquidity risk, interest rate risk, currency risk and credit risk. The Directors 
review and agree policies for managing each of these risks and they are summarised below. These policies have remained unchanged from 
previous years. 
The Group’s ﬁnancial assets and liabilities are summarised as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011 
£’000
Financial assets:
Available-for-sale – 15
Loans and receivables 602 3,908
602 3,923
Financial liabilities:
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost 1,349 1,494
1,349 1,494
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 35
Liquidity risk
The Group seeks to manage ﬁnancial risk, to ensure ﬁnancial liquidity is available to meet foreseeable needs and to invest cash assets safely 
and proﬁtably. Short-term ﬂexibility is achieved through trade ﬁnance arrangements and overdrafts.
The maturity of ﬁnancial liabilities as at 31 December 2012 is summarised as follows:
Gross cash ﬂows:
Trade 
payables 
and accruals 
£’000
Finance 
leases  
£’000
Loans  
£’000
Bank  
£’000
Total  
£’000
Zero to sixty days 1,016 3 219 279 1,517
Sixty-one days to three months –––––
Four months to six months –4 – – 4
Seven months to one year –7 – – 7
One year to three years –21 – –21
More than three years –––––
1,016 35 219 279 1,549
The maturity of ﬁnancial liabilities as at 31 December 2011 is summarised as follows:
Gross cash ﬂows:
Trade 
payables 
and accruals 
£’000
Finance 
leases  
£’000
Loans  
£’000
Bank  
£’000
Total  
£’000
Zero to sixty days 1,229 7 382 111 1,729
Sixty-one days to three months – 3 – – 3
Four months to six months – 7 – – 7
Seven months to one year – 21 – – 21
One year to three years – 24 – – 24
More than three years – 4 – – 4
1,229 66 382 111 1,788
Interest rate risk
The Group seeks to reduce its exposure to interest rate risk where possible, but this is offset by the availability of trade ﬁnance arrangements 
which are transaction speciﬁc to meet liquidity needs and so have variable interest rate terms. 
Sensitivities have been looked at in the range of an absolute rate increase of 5% or a decrease of 1% which enable an objective calculation 
to be made depending on any interest rate changes in the future. Any rate changes would be outside the control of the Company.
The Group’s exposure to interest rate risk as at 31 December 2012 is summarised as follows:
Fixed
£’000
Variable
£’000
Zero
£’000
Total
£’000
Cash and cash equivalents – 336 – 336
Trade receivables – – 545 545
VAT – – 92 92
Other debtors 42 – 14 56
42 336 651 1,029
Trade payables – – (851) (851)
Other payables – – (150) (150)
Bank overdraft – (279) – (279)
Lease purchase (31) – – (31)
Other loans – (219) – (219)
11 (162) (350) (501)
Sensitivity: increase in interest rates of 5% – (10) – (10)
Sensitivity: decrease in interest rates of 1% –2 –2
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
36
3 Financial risk management (continued)
The Group’s exposure to interest rate risk as at 31 December 2011 is summarised as follows:
Fixed  
£’000
Variable 
£’000
Zero  
£’000
Total  
£’000
Cash and cash equivalents – 291 – 291
Trade receivables – – 3,524 3,524
VAT – – 67 67
Other debtors – – 93 93
– 291 3,684 3,975
Trade payables – – (1,001) (1,001)
Other payables – – (238) (238)
Bank overdraft – (111) – (111)
Lease purchase (56) – – (56)
Other loans – (382) – (382)
(56) (202) 2,445 2,187
Sensitivity: increase in interest rates of 5% – (10) – (10)
Sensitivity: decrease in interest rates of 1% – 2 – 2
Sensitivity shows the effect on equity proﬁt and loss.
Currency risk 
The Group operates in overseas markets and is subject to currency exposure on transactions undertaken during the year. The Group hedges 
the transactions where possible by buying goods and selling them in the same currency. The Group also has bank facilities available for 
hedging purposes.
A summary of foreign currency ﬁnancial assets and liabilities as stated in the statement of ﬁnancial position together with a sensitivity 
analysis showing the effect of a 10% change in rate with Sterling is shown below:
Currency 
Sterling  
2012  
£’000
Currency 
balance  
2012  
’000
Sterling  
2011  
£’000
Currency 
balance  
2011  
’000
Financial assets Euro 143 €176 249 €298
Financial liabilities Euro (140) €(172) (91) €(109)
Net balance Euro 3€4 158 €189
Effect of 10% Sterling increase – 14
Effect of 10% Sterling decrease – (17)
Financial assets USD 735 $1,191 3,840 $5,961
Financial liabilities USD (538) $(874) (526) $(817)
Net balance USD 197 $317 3,314 $5,144
Effect of 10% Sterling increase (20) (301)
Effect of 10% Sterling decrease 20 368
Sensitivity shows the effect on equity and proﬁt and loss. A 10% change is shown to enable an objective calculation to be made on exchange 
rates which may be assumed for the future.
Credit risk
The Group’s exposure to credit risk is limited to the carrying value of ﬁnancial assets at the balance sheet date, summarised as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Loans and receivables:
 Trade receivables 545 3,524
 Finance lease receivables 42 38
 Cash and cash equivalents 336 291
923 3,853
The credit risk associated with the cash is limited as the counterparties have high credit ratings assigned by international credit-rating 
agencies. The principal credit risk arises therefore from trade receivables. The seven largest customer balances at the end of the year make 
up 77% (2011: 82%) of the above trade receivables.
In order to manage credit risk the Directors set limits for customers based on a combination of payment history, third party credit references 
and use of credit insurance. These limits are reviewed regularly.
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 37
The maturity of overdue debts is set out in note 16. During the period debts totalling £88,000 (2011: £nil) were written off. 
Capital requirements
Interest bearing loans and borrowings are monitored regularly to ensure the Group has sufﬁcient liquidity and its exposure to interest 
rate risk is mitigated. Management consider the capital of the Group comprises the share capital and interest bearing loans and borrowings. 
The Company satisﬁes the Companies Act 2006 requirement to hold £50,000 issued and authorised share capital. The rule that 25% must 
be paid up is also satisﬁed, by reference to note 18.
4 Critical accounting estimates and judgements
Estimates and judgements are evaluated continually and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations 
of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Although these estimates are based on management’s 
best knowledge of current events and actions, actual results may ultimately differ from those actions.
In preparing these accounts the following areas were considered to involve signiﬁcant judgement:
Recoverability of capitalised development cost
Judgements relating to capitalised development costs are detailed in note 12.
Share option judgements
Judgements relating to share-based payment charges are detailed in note 18.
Going concern
Judgements relating to going concern are detailed in note 2.
In preparing these accounts the following areas were considered to involve signiﬁcant estimates:
Bad debts
Provisions for bad debts are shown in note 16. Bad debt provisions are made when there is objective evidence of impairment. Where there 
is no provision then it is due to adequate credit insurance being in place, or cash has been received since the end of the year, or adequate 
information exists to support the recoverability of the debt.
Recognition of deferred tax assets
Estimates relating to a deferred tax asset are detailed in note 9a.
5 Segmental information
Management currently identiﬁes the Group’s two service lines as operating segments as further described in note 2. These operating 
segments are monitored and strategic decisions are made on the basis of adjusted segment operating results including one-off items 
such as employee settlement costs.
The segmental results for the year ended 31 December 2012 are as follows: 
Operating segments
Twelve months to 31 December 2012
Plastics 
£’000
Recycling 
Tech.  
£’000
Group  
£’000
Segment revenues 4,938 – 4,938 
Share-based payments (17) – (17)
Apportioned costs (6,671) (272) (6,943)
EBITDA (1,750) (272) (2,022)
Depreciation and amortisation (161) – (161)
Interest (14) – (14)
Taxation (27) – (27)
Loss for the year (1,952) (272) (2,224)
The segmental results for the year ended 31 December 2011 are as follows:
Operating segments
Twelve months to 31 December 2011
Plastics 
£’000
Recycling 
Tech.  
£’000
Group  
£’000
Segment revenues 8,542 – 8,542 
Share-based payments (29) – (29)
Apportioned costs (7,649) (222) (7,871)
EBITDA 864 (222) 642
Depreciation and amortisation (138) – (138)
Interest (88) – (88)
Taxation 104 – 104
Proﬁt/(loss) for the year 742 (222) 520
Revenues stated are from external customers.
There were no inter-segment revenues for the above periods.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
38
5 Segmental information (continued)
There has been no change in total assets other than in the ordinary course of business. 
Segmental assets primarily consist of property, plant and equipment, intangible assets, inventories, trade and other receivables and cash 
and cash equivalents. Unallocated assets comprise available-for-sale ﬁnancial assets.
Segmental liabilities comprise operating liabilities.
The segment assets and liabilities at 31 December 2012 and capital expenditure for the year then ended are as follows:
£’000 Plastics
Recycling 
Tech. Unallocated Group
Assets 4,348 480 – 4,828
Liabilities (1,685) (10) – (1,695)
Capital expenditure 311 109 – 420
Depreciation and amortisation 161 – – 161
The segment assets and liabilities at 31 December 2011 and capital expenditure for the year then ended are as follows:
£’000 Plastics
Recycling 
Tech. Unallocated Group
Assets 6,967 370 15 7,352
Liabilities (2,016) – – (2,016)
Capital expenditure 436 91 – 527
Depreciation and amortisation 138 – – 138
Geographical areas
The Group’s revenues from external customers and its non-current assets (assets other than ﬁnancial instruments, investments accounted 
for using the equity method, deferred tax assets and post-employment beneﬁt assets) are divided into the following geographical areas:
Geographical areas
2012  
£’000 
Revenue
2012  
£’000 
Non-current 
assets
2011  
£’000 
Revenue
2011  
£’000 
Non-current 
assets
UK 380 1,833 363 1,588
Europe 996 – 1,610 –
Americas 2,109 – 4,621 –
Other 1,453 – 1,948 –
Total 4,938 1,833 8,542 1,588
Major customers
Within plastics, two customers accounted for greater than 10% of total Group revenues for 2012 (2011: two customers). One customer 
accounted for £888,000, or 18%, the other customer £623,000 or 13% (one customer accounted for £1,240,000, or 15%, the other customer 
£881,000 or 10% of total Group revenues for 2011).
6 Operating (loss)/proﬁt 
The operating (loss)/proﬁt is stated after charging:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Depreciation 132 109
Amortisation 29 29
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment – 2
Research and development expenditure not capitalised 320 339
Operating lease rentals:
 Land and buildings 118 111
 Plant and equipment 6 6
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of the ﬁnancial statements 11 10
Fees payable to the Company’s auditor for other services:
 Audit of the ﬁnancial statements of the Company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation 26 26
 Interim review 1 1
 Other services relating to taxation 7 23
Net foreign exchange loss 72 49
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 39
7 Employee beneﬁt expense
2012 
£’000
2011 
£’000
Wages and salaries 1,867 1,656
Social security costs 234 209
Other pension costs 55 157
2,156 2,022
Average number of people employed:
2012 2011
Testing and technical 7 8
Selling 8 8
Administration 9 9
Management 6 6
Marketing 2 3
Total average headcount 32 34
Remuneration in respect of the Directors was as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Emoluments 845 746
Pension contributions 29 147
874 893
Key management remuneration:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Short-term employee beneﬁts 845 746
Post-employment beneﬁts 29 147
874 893
The Directors are considered to be the key management personnel of the Group. Further details on Directors’ remuneration and share 
options are set out in the Remuneration Report.
8 Finance income and costs
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Interest income:
 Finance lease interest 6 2
Total ﬁnance income 6 2
Interest expense:
 Bank borrowings 4 8
 Other interest 11 65
 Finance charges 5 17
Total ﬁnance costs 20 90
Net ﬁnance costs 14 88
9  Taxation
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Net deferred tax (see note 9a) (61) 97
R&D tax credit 34 7
Total income tax (charge)/credit (27) 104
No tax arises on the loss for the year.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
40
9  Taxation (continued)
The tax assessed for the year is different from the standard rate of corporation tax in the UK of 24% (2011: 26%). The differences are 
explained as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
(Loss)/proﬁt for the year before tax (2,197) 416
Tax calculated by rate of tax on the result (527) 108
Effective rate for year at 24.5% (3m @ 26% and 9m @ 24%) (10) 2
Expenses not deductible for tax purposes 11 23
Capital allowances in excess of depreciation – (48)
Depreciation in excess of capital allowances 6 –
Tax losses utilised – (85)
Tax losses carried forward 520 –
Movement in deferred income tax asset (see note 9a) (61) 97
R&D tax credit 34 7
Total income tax credit (27) 104
9a Deferred income tax asset
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Deferred income tax asset brought forward 1,277 1,180
Change in tax rate (102) (24)
Notional tax charge – (108)
Recognised in the year 41 229
Deferred income tax asset carried forward 1,216 1,277
The deferred tax asset relates to tax losses. There are tax losses of approximately £12,900,000 (2011: £11,381,000).
Of these tax losses, a negative deferred tax adjustment of £61,000 has been recognised in this year’s accounts (2011: positive £229,000) 
resulting in a total asset recognised of £1,216,000 (2011: £1,277,000). There is a total potential tax asset of £2,967,000 using a rate of 23%, 
being the corporation tax rate Parliament has set from 1 April 2013.
The recognition of the deferred tax asset is based on sensitised forecasts. Judgements have been made in respect to continuation of proﬁtability 
going forward, and estimates made in relation to the sensitivities of future sales and foreign exchange rates.
10 (Loss)/earnings per share and dividends
The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on the (loss)/proﬁt attributable to ordinary shareholders divided by the weighted average 
number of shares in issue during the year. The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on the basic earnings per share, adjusted to 
allow for the issue of shares on the assumed conversion of all dilutive options and warrants.
Reconciliations of the proﬁt and weighted average numbers of shares used in the calculations are set out below:
Basic and diluted 2012 2011
(Loss)/proﬁt attributable to equity holders of the Company £(2,224,000) £520,000
Weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue 127,907,254 123,853,985
Basic (loss)/earnings per share (1.74) pence 0.42 pence
Dilutive effect of weighted average options – 15,441,979 
Total of weighted average shares together with dilutive effect of weighted options 127,907,954 139,295,964
Diluted (loss)/earnings per share (1.74) pence 0.37 pence
No dividends were paid for the year ended 31 December 2012 (2011: £nil). 
The effect of options in 2012 are anti-dilutive.
18,181,570 options were outstanding at the end of the year which may become dilutive in future years. 
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 41
11 Property, plant and equipment
Plant & 
machinery 
£’000
Fixtures & 
ﬁttings  
£’000
Fixtures 
& ﬁttings 
Elstree Gate 
£’000
Motor 
vehicles 
£’000
Ofﬁce 
equipment 
£’000
Total  
£’000
At 1 January 2011
Cost 138 67 209 124 148 686
Accumulated depreciation (63) (52) (16) (64) (29) (224)
Net book amount 75 15 193 60 119 462
Year ended 31 December 2011
Opening net book amount 75 15 193 60 119 462
Additions 247 – 7 19 7 280
Disposals (46) – – (16) – (62)
Depreciation charge (31) (4) (21) (16) (37) (109)
Eliminated on disposal 3 – – 12 – 15
Closing net book amount 248 11 179 59 89 586
At 1 January 2012
Cost 339 67 216 127 155 904
Accumulated depreciation (91) (56) (37) (68) (66) (318)
Net book amount 248 11 179 59 89 586
Year ended 31 December 2012
Opening net book amount 248 11 179 59 89 586
Additions 34 – 20 – 5 59
Disposals (15) – – – – (15)
Depreciation charge (52) (3) (23) (14) (40) (132)
Eliminated on disposal 1 – – – – 1
Closing net book amount 216 8 176 45 54 499
At 31 December 2012
Cost 358 67 236 127 160 948
Accumulated depreciation (142) (59) (60) (82) (106) (449)
Net book amount 216 8 176 45 54 499
Included within net book value of motor vehicles, plant and machinery, and ofﬁce equipment is £23,000 (2011: £47,000) relating to assets 
held under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase contracts. The depreciation charged to the ﬁnancial statements in the year in respect of such 
assets amounted to £12,000 (2011: £16,000).
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
42
12 Intangible assets
Development 
costs  
£’000
Trademarks 
£’000
Total  
£’000
At 1 January 2011
Cost 827 48 875
Accumulated amortisation (68) (23) (91)
Net book amount 759 25 784
Year ended 31 December 2011
Opening net book amount 759 25 784
Additions 242 5 247
Amortisation charge (24) (5) (29)
Closing net book amount 977 25 1,002
At 1 January 2012
Cost 1,069 53 1,122
Accumulated amortisation (92) (28) (120)
Net book amount 977 25 1,002
Year ended 31 December 2012
Opening net book amount 977 25 1,002
Additions 355 6 361
Amortisation charge (24) (5) (29)
Closing net book amount 1,308 26 1,334
At 31 December 2012
Cost 1,424 59 1,483
Accumulated amortisation (116) (33) (149)
Net book amount 1,308 26 1,334
The Group relies on the continued development of its product range and in so doing is maintaining satisfactory goals in fulﬁlling its strategy 
(see Chairman’s Statement and Chief Executive’s Review). After taking this into account together with the considerations of liquidity risk, 
see note 3, the Directors do not believe that there are any indicators of impairment.
Development costs are capitalised in accordance with the policy set out in note 2. In capitalising these costs, judgements are made relating 
to ongoing feasibility and commerciality of products and systems being developed. In making these judgements, cashﬂow forecasts are 
used and these include signiﬁcant estimates in respect to sales forecasts and future foreign exchange rates. 
13 Subsidiary undertakings
Principal subsidiaries:
Name Country of incorporation Nature of business 
Proportion 
of ordinary 
shares held 
by parent
Proportion 
of ordinary 
shares held 
by the Group
Symphony Environmental Limited England and Wales Supply of environmental polyoleﬁn products 
and ancillaries 100% 100%
Symphony Packaging Limited England and Wales Dormant 0% 100%
D
2
W Limited England and Wales Dormant 0% 100%
Symphony Plastics (2010) Limited England and Wales Dormant 0% 100%
Symphony Recycling Technologies Limited England and Wales Development of recycling systems 100% 100%
Elstree Gate Services Limited England and Wales Dormant 100% 100%
Symphony Environmental (Jamaica) Limited Jamaica Dormant 0% 100%
All of the above subsidiaries are consolidated in the Group ﬁnancial statements.
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 43
14 Available for sale ﬁnancial assets
All non-current
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Beginning and end of year – 15
The company holds 30% of the ordinary share capital of Symphony Bin Hilal Plastics LLC, a company incorporated in the United Arab 
Emirates. The Directors are of the opinion that this is an investment as the Directors do not have signiﬁcant inﬂuence because they 
have no ﬁnancial or management control. A full impairment has been made against this during the year due to limited availability 
of ﬁnancial information.
The company holds 10% of the ordinary share capital of American Plastic Technologies plc, a company incorporated in the United States 
of America. The Directors are of the opinion that this is an investment as the Directors do not have signiﬁcant inﬂuence because they have 
no ﬁnancial or management control. The investment in American Plastics Technologies plc is measured at cost less impairment charges 
as the fair value cannot be estimated readily. The cost of this investment was £nil.
The company holds c.5% of the ordinary share capital of Oxobioplast Inc, a company incorporated in the United States of America. 
The Directors are of the opinion that this is an investment as the Directors do not have signiﬁcant inﬂuence because they have no ﬁnancial 
or management control. The investment in Oxobioplast Inc. is measured at cost less impairment charges as the fair value cannot be 
estimated readily. The cost of this investment was £nil.
There is no collateral on the above amounts.
15 Inventories
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Finished goods and goods for resale 637 399
The cost of inventories recognised as an expense and included in “cost of sales” amounted to £3,001,000 (2011: £4,052,000). There is no 
provision for the impairment of inventories (2011: £nil).
There is no collateral on the above amounts.
16 Trade and other receivables
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Loans and receivables:
 Trade receivables 545 3,524
 Receivables under ﬁnance leases 42 38
 Other debtors 14 55
VAT 92 67
Prepayments 113 98
806 3,782
The Directors consider that the carrying value of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair values. There is a provision of 
£349,000 for the impairment of receivables (2011: £nil). The maximum credit risk exposure at the balance sheet date equates to the 
fair value of trade receivables. Further disclosures are set out in note 3.
Included in trade receivables at 31 December 2012 are debtors which are past due but where no provision has been made as there has 
not been a change in the credit worthiness of these debtors and the amounts are considered recoverable. As of 31 December 2012 trade 
receivables of £134,000 (2011: £556,000) were past due and not impaired. The ageing analysis of these trade receivables is as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
More than three months but less than six months 76 220
More than six months but not more than one year 58 –
More than one year – 336
134 556
Due to the different markets that the Group operates in, trade terms vary from cash on shipment of goods to payment under letter of credit 
due 150 days from shipment.
Trade receivables are secured against the facilities provided by the Group’s bankers.
Lease agreements in which the other party, as lessee, is to be regarded as the economic owner of the leased assets give rise to accounts 
receivable in the amount of the discounted future lease payments. These receivables amounted to £42,000 as of 31 December 2012 
(2011: £38,000).
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
44
The receivables under ﬁnance leases for 2012 are as follows:
£’000
Total future 
payments
Unearned 
interest 
income
Present 
value
Not later than one year 36 4 32
Between one and ﬁve years 10 – 10
Later than ﬁve years –––
As at 31 December 2012 46 4 42
The receivables under ﬁnance leases for 2011 were as follows:
£’000
Total future 
payments
Unearned 
interest 
income
Present 
value
Not later than one year 16 3 13
Between one and ﬁve years 27 2 25
Later than ﬁve years –––
As at 31 December 2011 43 5 38
The leases, which relate to d
2
Detectors, are typically cancellable after the ﬁrst six months and run for a period of two years. The contracts 
include an option to purchase the leased equipment at any time between the initial six-month period and the full term of two years. 
The purchase price lies between 33% and 75% of the gross investment at the inception of the lease, resulting from the timing the option 
to purchase is exercised.
17 Cash and cash equivalents
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Loans and receivables:
 Cash at bank and in hand 336 291
The carrying amount of cash equivalents approximates to their fair values. There is no collateral on the above amounts.
18 Equity
Group and Company Group
Ordinary  
shares  
Number
Ordinary 
shares  
£’000
Share 
premium 
£’000
Retained 
earnings 
£’000
Total  
£’000
At 1 January 2011 117,284,577 1,173 17 1,863 3,053
Proﬁt for the year – – – 520 520
Share-based payments – – – 29 29
Proceeds from shares issued 10,559,000 105 1,629 – 1,734
At 31 December 2011 127,843,577 1,278 1,646 2,412 5,336
At 1 January 2012 127,843,577 1,278 1,646 2,412 5,336
Loss for the year – – – (2,224) (2,224)
Share-based payments – – – 17 17
Proceeds from shares issued 150,800 2 2 – 4
At 31 December 2012 127,994,377 1,280 1,648 205 3,133
The total number of authorised 1p ordinary shares is 150,000,000. All issued ordinary shares are fully paid.
Proceeds from shares issued
The following ordinary shares were issued during the year:
Date
Ordinary 
shares 
Number Details
Consideration 
£
Premium  
£
01 January 2012 800 Prior year correction – –
06 August 2012 150,000 Exercise of options 3,750 2,250
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued)
16 Trade and other receivables (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 45
Share options
As at 31 December 2012 the Group maintained an approved share-based payment scheme for employee compensation. For the options 
granted to vest, the Group must achieve an earnings per share in excess of 0.001p and employees must serve a speciﬁed amount of time. 
All share-based employee compensation will be settled in equity. The Group has no legal or constructive obligation to repurchase or settle 
the options. As at 31 December 2012 there were 4,650,000 staff options outstanding. No staff options were issued in 2012. 
The Group has also issued unapproved share options. Approved and unapproved share options and weighted average exercise price are 
as follows for the reporting periods presented:
Number
2012 
Weighted 
average 
exercise 
price 
£ Number
2011 
Weighted 
average 
exercise 
price 
£
Outstanding at 1 January 18,796,500 0.06 20,815,960 0.06
Exercised (150,000) 0.03 (1,823,500) 0.05
Forfeited/lapsed (495,000) 0.22 (195,960) 0.05
Outstanding at 31 December 18,151,500 0.06 18,796,500 0.06
The weighted average share price at the date options were exercised was 5p (2011: 16p). 
The number of share options exercisable at 31 December 2012 was 18,151,500 (2011: 16,196,500). The weighted average exercise price 
of those shares exercisable was 6p (2011: 6p). 
The weighted average option contractual life is ten years (2011: ten years) and the range of exercise prices is 2.75p to 12p (2011: 2.75p to 37p).
Directors
Directors’ interests in shares and share incentives are contained in the Remuneration Report.
IFRS2 expense
There is an IFRS share-based charge for the year of £17,000 (2011: £29,000).
Fair value of options granted 
The fair values of options granted were determined using the Black-Scholes pricing model that takes into account factors speciﬁc to the 
share incentive plans. The following principal assumptions were used in the valuation during 2011. No options were granted in 2012.
2011
Weighted average exercise price £0.11
Calculated volatility 12%
Expected life 2–6 years
Average risk-free rate 3.50%
Expected dividends 0%
The underlying expected volatility was determined by reference to historical data of the Group’s shares over a period of time since 2005, 
being the year the Group changed strategy from being a supplier of ﬁnished products to one of development and supply of additives. 
No special features inherent to the options granted were incorporated into measurement of fair value.
19 Trade and other payables
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Current
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost:
 Trade payables 851 1,001
Other creditors 11 134
Social security and other taxes 139 104
Accruals and deferred income 165 228
1,166 1,467
Fair value is not materially different to book value. There is no collateral on the above amounts.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
46
20 Interest bearing loans and borrowings
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Non-current
Finance lease liabilities 20 31
20 31
Current
Financial liabilities measured at amortised cost:
 Bank overdraft 279 111
 Other loans 219 382
Finance lease liabilities 11 25
509 518
The bank overdraft of £279,000 (2011: £111,000) is included within the cashﬂow statement within cash and cash equivalents.
Other loans include:
An amount due relating to the invoice ﬁnancing facility totalling £219,000 (2011: £382,000). Interest is charged at 2.41% over HSBC Bank plc 
base rate per annum.
Commitments under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase agreements mature as follows:
Gross  
2012  
£’000
Gross  
2011  
£’000
Net  
2012  
£’000
Net  
2011  
£’000
Amounts payable within one year 14 31 11 25
Amounts payable between one and two years 18 14 17 11
Amounts payable between three and ﬁve years 3 21 3 20
35 66 31 56
The ﬁnance leases are for the purchase of sundry equipment and motor vehicles (note 11).
There is no collateral on the above amounts except for ﬁnance lease liabilities which are secured against the asset that they ﬁnance.
21 Net cash generated/(used) from operations
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
(Loss)/proﬁt after tax (2,224) 520 
Adjustments for:
 Depreciation 132 109
 Amortisation 29 29
 Loss on disposal – 2
 Share-based payments 17 29
 Impairment of ﬁnancial asset 16 –
 Tax charge/(credit) 27 (104)
 Interest expense 20 90
Changes in working capital:
 Inventories (238) (118)
 Trade and other receivables 2,936 (853)
 Trade and other payables (301) 102
Cash generated/(used) from operations 414 (194)
22 Commitments
The future aggregate minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are as follows:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
No later than one year 126 115
Later than one year and no later than ﬁve years 297 259
423 374
Notes to the Annual Report and Accounts (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 47
23 Post balance sheet events
There have been no signiﬁcant post balance sheet events.
24 Capital management
The Group’s capital management objectives are:
 to ensure the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern; and
 to provide an adequate return to shareholders by pricing products and services commensurately with the level of risk.
The Group monitors capital on the basis of the carrying amount of equity less cash and cash equivalents as presented on the face of the 
statement of ﬁnancial position.
The Group’s goal in capital management is to maintain a capital-to-overall ﬁnancing ratio of 1:1 to 1:3. 
The Group sets the amount of capital in proportion to its overall ﬁnancing structure, i.e. equity and ﬁnancial liabilities. The Group manages 
the capital structure and makes adjustments to it in the light of changes in economic conditions and the risk characteristics of the underlying 
assets. In order to maintain or adjust the capital structure, the Group may adjust the amount of dividends paid to shareholders, return capital 
to shareholders, issue new shares, or sell assets to reduce debt.
Capital for the reporting periods under review is summarised as follows: 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Total equity 3,133 5,336
Cash and cash equivalents (336) (291)
Capital 2,797 5,045
Total equity 3,133 5,336
Borrowings 529 549
Overall ﬁnancing 3,662 5,885
Capital-to-ﬁnancing ratio 0.76 0.86
The ratio-decrease during 2012 is a result of the loss for the year. The Group will aim to improve the capital-to-ﬁnance ratio during 2013 
by increasing sales where possible to new emerging markets, coupled with the strengthening of the product portfolio.
25 Capital commitments
The Group had capital commitments totalling £33,000 at the end of the year (2011: £20,000). 
The following pages contain the balance sheet and accompanying notes for the parent Company prepared under UK GAAP.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
48
Note
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 27 24 32
Investments 28 2,150 2,150
2,174 2,182
Current assets
Debtors 29 1,900 1,929
Cash at bank and in hand – 19
1,900 1,948
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 30 61 234
Net current assets 1,839 1,714
Total assets less current liabilities 4,013 3,896
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year 31 11 11
4,002 3,885
Capital and reserves
Share capital 34 1,280 1,278
Share premium account 35 1,648 1,646
Proﬁt and loss account 35 1,074 961
4,002 3,885
The Company has applied the exemption under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 not to present a proﬁt and loss account for the year 
ended 31 December 2012. There are no recognised gains or losses other than its proﬁt for the year as detailed in note 36.
These ﬁnancial statements were approved by the Directors on 26 March 2013 and are signed on their behalf by:
I Bristow FCCA
Finance Director
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these ﬁnancial statements.
Company Balance Sheet
at 31 December 2012
Company number 3676824 Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 49
26 Principal accounting policies
Basis of accounting
The Company ﬁnancial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with United Kingdom 
Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP).
Fixed assets
Tangible ﬁxed assets are stated at cost, net of depreciation and any provision for impairment.
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that 
asset as follows:
Plant and machinery – 20% reducing balance.
Fixtures and ﬁttings – 25% reducing balance.
Motor vehicles – 20% reducing balance.
Ofﬁce equipment – 25% straight line.
Leasing and hire purchase commitments
Assets held under ﬁnance leases, which are leases where substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership of the asset have passed to the 
Company, and hire purchase contracts, are capitalised in the balance sheet and are depreciated over their useful lives. The capital elements 
of future obligations under the leases and hire purchase contracts are included as liabilities in the balance sheet.
The interest elements of the rental obligations are charged in the proﬁt and loss account over the periods of the leases and hire purchase 
contracts and represent a constant proportion of the balance of capital repayments outstanding.
Rentals payable under operating leases are charged in the proﬁt and loss account on a straight line basis over the lease term.
Pension costs
Company pensions are operated within the Group pension scheme. The Group operates a deﬁned contribution pension scheme for 
employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Group. The annual contributions payable in respect to the 
Company are charged to the proﬁt and loss account.
Deferred taxation
Deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date where 
transactions or events have occurred at that date that will result in an obligation to pay more, or a right to pay less or to receive more tax, 
with the following exception: deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that the Directors consider that it is more likely than 
not that there will be suitable taxable proﬁts from which the future reversal of the underlying timing differences can be deducted.
Deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which timing differences 
reverse, based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date.
Foreign currencies
Monetary assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. 
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into Sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Exchange 
differences are taken into account in arriving at the operating proﬁt.
Investments
Investments are included at cost less amounts written off.
Financial instruments
Financial liabilities and equity instruments are classiﬁed according to the substance of the contractual arrangements entered into. An equity 
instrument is any contract that evidences a residual interest in the assets of the entity after deducting all of its ﬁnancial liabilities.
Where the contractual obligations of the ﬁnancial instruments (including share capital) are equivalent to a similar debt instrument, those 
ﬁnancial instruments are classiﬁed as ﬁnancial liabilities. Financial liabilities are presented as such in the balance sheet. Finance costs are 
calculated so as to produce a constant rate of return on the outstanding liability.
Where the contractual terms of share capital do not have any terms meeting the deﬁnition of a ﬁnancial liability then this is classiﬁed 
as an equity instrument. Dividends and distributions relating to equity instruments are debited direct to equity.
Equity-settled share-based payments
All share-based payment arrangements granted after 7 November 2002 that had not vested prior to 1 January 2007 are recognised in the 
ﬁnancial statements.
All goods and services received in exchange for the grant of any share-based payment are measured at their fair values. Where employees 
are rewarded using share-based payments, the fair values are determined by reference to the fair value of the instrument granted to the 
employee. This fair value is appraised at the grant date and excludes the impact of non-market vesting conditions. The fair value is charged 
to the proﬁt and loss account between the date of issue and the date the share options vest with a corresponding credit taken to 
shareholders’ funds.
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
50
27 Tangible ﬁxed assets
Plant & 
machinery 
£’000
Motor 
vehicles 
£’000
Total  
£’000
Cost
At 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2012 27 58 85
Depreciation
At 1 January 2012 18 35 53
Charge for the year 268
At 31 December 2012 20 41 61
Net book value
At 31 December 2012 71724
At 31 December 2011 92332
Included within the net book value of £24,000 is £10,000 (2011: £13,000) relating to assets held under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase 
contracts. The depreciation charged to the ﬁnancial statements in the year in respect of such assets amounted to £3,000 (2011: £4,000).
28 Investments 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Shares in Group undertakings
At beginning and end of the year 2,150 2,150
Group undertakings are detailed in note 13.
29 Debtors 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Amounts owed by Group undertakings 1,891 1,913
VAT 2 7
Prepayments 7 9
1,900 1,929
30 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Trade creditors 9 31
Other taxation and social security – 16
Amounts due under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase agreements 3 2
Other creditors – 134
Accruals 49 51
61 234
31 Creditors: amounts falling after more than one year 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Amounts due under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase agreements 8 11
Amounts owed to Group undertakings 3 –
11 11
32 Commitments under ﬁnance leases and hire purchase agreements 
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Amounts payable within one year 3 2
Amounts payable between one and two years 8 3
Amounts payable between three and ﬁve years – 8
11 13
Notes to the Company Balance Sheet (continued) Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
 51
33  Contingent liabilities
The Company has guaranteed all monies due to its bankers by Symphony Environmental Limited, Symphony Recycling Technologies Limited 
and Symphony Plastics (2010) Limited. At 31 December 2012 the net indebtedness of these companies amounted to £nil (2011: £nil). 
34 Share capital
The Company’s share capital is detailed in note 18.
35 Reserves 
Share 
premium 
account 
£’000
Proﬁt 
and loss 
 account 
£’000
At 1 January 2012 1,646 961
Retained proﬁt for the year – 113
New equity share capital subscribed 2–
At 31 December 2012 1,648 1,074
36 Parent Company own accounts
Symphony Environmental Technologies plc has not presented its own proﬁt and loss account and related notes as permitted by section 408 
of the Companies Act 2006. The proﬁt for the ﬁnancial year dealt with in the ﬁnancial statements of the parent Company is £113,000 
(2011: proﬁt £100,000).
37 Directors and employees
All employees of Symphony Environmental Technologies plc are Directors. See note 7 of the Group consolidated accounts. 
The average number of staff employed by the Company during the ﬁnancial year amounted to:
2012  
No.
2011  
No.
Management 3 3
The aggregate payroll costs of the above were:
2012  
£’000
2011  
£’000
Wages and salaries 85 85
Social security costs 10 10
95 95
The company has taken advantage of the FRS8 exemption that allows intra-Group transactions with a 100% subsidiary to not be disclosed.
There were no other related party transactions throughout the period.
Business review Governance Financial statements Symphony Environmental  
Technologies plc
Annual Report and  
Accounts 2012
52
Notes  Printed on LumiSilk (300gsm cover, 170gsm 
pages 1–24 and 150gsm pages 25–52) 
LumiSilk is an FSC-recognised paper, 
produced from well-managed forests, 
and recycled wood or ﬁbre. This publication 
was printed with vegetable oil-based inks 
by an FSC-recognised printer that holds an 
ISO 14001 certiﬁcation.
Company Registration Number
3676824
Registered Ofﬁce
6 Elstree Gate
Elstree Way
Borehamwood
Hertfordshire
WD6 1JD
Tel: +44 (0)20 8207 5900
Fax: +44 (0)20 8207 7632
Email: info@symphonyenvironmental.com
Directors
N J Deva DL, FRSA, MEP
Non-Executive Chairman
M N Laurier
Chief Executive Ofﬁcer
I Bristow FCCA
Finance Director 
M Stephen LL.M
Commercial Director and Deputy Chairman
M F Stephens
Technical Director
N Clavel
Non-Executive Director
Secretary
I Bristow
Nominated Adviser and Broker
Cantor Fitzgerald Europe
1 America Square
17 Crosswall
London
EC3N 2LS
Bankers
HSBC Bank Plc
103 Station Road 
Edgware
Middlesex
HA8 7JJ
Solicitors
Olswang
90 High Holborn
London
WC1V 6XX
Auditor
Grant Thornton UK LLP
Chartered Accountants
Registered Auditors
Grant Thornton House
202 Silbury Boulevard
Central Milton Keynes
MK9 1LW
Registrars
Capita Registrars Limited
The Registry
34 Beckenham Road
Beckenham
Kent
BR3 4TU www.symphonyenvironmental.com