abcam plc
330 cambridge science park 
cambridge cb4 0fl 
uk
email corporateabcamcom 
phone 44 01223 696000 
fax 44 01223 771600
wwwabcamplccom
much more 
than antibodies
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
100
abcam plc is committed to achieving good environmental practice and this is reflected in this annual report 
which has been printed on cocoon silk 100 this stock is comprised of 100 post consumer waste which is 
independently certified in accordance with the rules of the forest stewardship council and produced at mills 
with iso 14001 environmental management systems  annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
contents  
of this report
review of the year 
ifc highlights of our year
 01 corporate statement 
 02 what we offer 
 04 who we support 
 06 how we operate 
 08 chairman’s review 
 10 chief executive officer’s review 
 16 financial review 
corporate governance
 20 board of directors 
 22 corporate directory
 23 report on affairs of the group 
 28 corporate governance statement 
 32 directors’ remuneration report 
 39 statement of directors’ responsibilities 
financial statements
 40 independent auditors’ report 
 41 consolidated income statement 
   consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income 
 42  consolidated statement of changes 
in equity 
 43 consolidated balance sheet 
 44 consolidated cash flow statement
 45 company balance sheet
 46 company cash flow statement 
   company statement of comprehensive 
income 
 47 company statement of changes in equity 
 48  notes to the consolidated 
financial statements
 76 our staff
this year we’ve taken our financial 
reporting online
we recognise the importance of 
providing clear and timely 
information to our existing and 
potential shareholders and hope 
that this new interactive format will 
enable you to more easily access 
the information contained herein
abcamplccomreports
highlights of our year
see our full financial results on page 41
profit before tax £m
06 07 08 09 10
258
50
55
80
163
number of new products
06 07 08 09 10
63010
23200
33900
44028
52400
revenue £m
06 07 08 09 10
711
194
245
366
568
earnings per share p
06 07 08 09 10
5382
1117
1174
1688
3483
  revenue increased by 252 to £711m 
2009 £568m and by 231 on a 
constant currency basis
  pretax profits increased by 584 to £258m 
2009 £163m after a nonrecurring fixed asset 
impairment related charge of £11m 
  product range grew by 202 to 63010 antibodies 
and related products 2009 52400
  new offices opened in hong kong and san francisco 
to improve service levels in regional markets 
  record volumes of characterisation data added on 
the products in the catalogue during the year
  net cash and shortterm deposits at 30 june 2010 
of £402m 2009 £255m
  earnings per share increased by 545 to 5382p 
per share 2009 3483p
  recommended final dividend increased by 554 
to 1461p per share 2009 940p giving an 
increase in the total dividend per share of 654 
to 2003p 2009 1211p 
access  
this report  
online
friendly
relaxed
 open fun
dynamic 
flexible
professional
progressive
ambitious
 the most popular terms abcam staff use to describe abcam – source abcam staff survey 2010 01
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
63010 products
1 online catalogue
abcam was established twelve years ago with the mission to build 
the largest catalogue of the best antibodies in the world 
wwwabcamcom
hi i ’ m molly  
 welcome  
to abcam
take a look inside  
to learn more
during this time our ecommerce 
platform has revolutionised the buying 
of antibodies and we’ve transformed 
into a global business ranked number 1 
for best customer experience 
this year we distributed more than 
300000 units to over 75 countries 
and are a market leader in the 
antibodies and reagents space
yet abcam has built its reputation 
on much more than just reliable 
products and an extensive 
online catalogue
  source the market for antibodies keys to success for commercial suppliers 
vol3 may 2009 bioinformatics 02
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
100  
support
our abpromise
®
 is a pledge 
of commitment to customers 
we respond to enquiries within 
24 hours our regional and 
virtual offices provide support 
in six languages and our 
websites host extensive 
technical resources for 
pre and postsales support 
beyond antibodies
what  
we offer
a vibrant 
culture
we are building a great company 
by recruiting excellent people 
we have a fun but intense 
working environment with 
everyone working together to 
deliver great service and the 
best products to customers
turn to page 10
more than 
270
employees across  
5 offices
our successful regional websites  
abcamcn and abcamcojp 03
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
scientific  
expertise
with our own laboratory 
in cambridge uk more than 
100 industryleading partners 
and a yearly programme 
of worldclass conferences 
abcam is truly a company 
of scientists working 
for scientists 
customer 
engagement
we value what customers say 
about our products and services 
and encourage feedback through 
surveys and focus groups 
our independent abreviews
®
 
system allows customers to rate 
the performance of a product 
with this information becoming 
part of the products datasheet
turn to page 12
constant 
innovation
our culture is one of continuous 
improvement and efficiency 
in addition to state of the art 
operational facilities we have 
recently developed unique 
packaging ensuring products 
arrive in the best possible condition 
turn to page 14
5 stars for ab1101 
p53 mouse  
monoclonal
40
inhouse phds 
13
  conferences 
in 10 countries 
2000 delegates 04
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
who we  
support
abcam is committed to 
supporting the needs of 
the scientific community 
by providing the best 
products available 
we continue to invest in 
enhancing our catalogue 
and services 
202 
increase in overall number 
of products
above our inhouse scientists work to enhance the 
characterisation of products providing customers with 
the most up to date and extensive data available 
we focus our efforts on particular areas of 
research and our close links with the scientific 
community mean we are able to source 
products and supplementary resources for 
the newest and fastest growing areas
cancer cardiovascular chromatin 
and nuclear signalling immunology 
neuroscience and stem cells
a record number of product 
features added
added over 7700 oem 
antibodies and more than 
2200 antibodyrelated 
reagents 05
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
our customers 
and collaborators
our business development teams work with 
over 100 key opinion leaders to ensure we 
understand what customers want and to 
keep in touch with research communities 
we work with our collaborators to identify new 
products increase the validation of existing 
ones and produce supporting literature as 
part of our focus on rigorous data gathering 
and presentation 
facilitating world 
leading research 
we organise a range of scientific conferences 
globally which serve to create a platform for 
scientists to come together and discuss their 
research in addition to providing essential 
networking forums for scientists our 
conference programme also provides staff 
unique opportunities to speak with customers
our inhouse scientists also provide 
customer support through online 
conferences and webinars
above neuronglia cultures stained with mouse 
mono to gfap ab red ab4648
developing the right  
products at the right time
visits to our website 
have increased by 
29 06
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
how we  
operate
cambridge 
massachusetts
local company 
global reach
the speed with which we 
are able to bring products 
to market and ship them 
to customers is one of our 
core strengths 
“our automated stock 
management system and 
operational efficiency 
allows us to offer next day 
delivery for in stock orders 
in the us eu and japan”
san francisco 
california
more than 
75
countries delivered 
to worldwide
more than 
650000
orders fulfilled since our foundation
5
offices 07
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
sourcing 
and producing
along with our own manufacturing facility 
specialising in the purification and testing 
of antibodies we source products from over 
300 partners the means we are able to 
offer scientists the newest and best research 
products available globally regardless 
of source and will continue to add new 
high quality products to the catalogue 
at a similar rate as previous years 
we have invested in strengthening our 
relationship with key suppliers enabling 
us to maintain good cost control and 
security of supply 
distributing 
internationally
our regional offices and network of 
distributors means we have global reach 
over the coming year the remit of the 
hong kong office will further develop our 
position in the chinese market and expand 
to include support to the asia pacific region 
the recent opening of a san francisco office 
will increase customer access to support in 
this region and our expansion of distributors 
in european countries has increased 
penetration in key institutes
we continue to work closely with our 
distributors to build on initiatives to 
improve our links with researchers
revenue by geography
  north america 
£318m
 europe £200m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hkchina £28m
  rest of the 
world £41m
cambridge uk
hong kong
tokyo japan
sales revenue £m
06 07 08 09 10
711
194
245
366
568
 £ 78
 € 278
  509
 £ 235
 € 81
  658
 ¥ 95
 hk 39
 ¥ 26
 hk 00
 £ 639
 € 09
  286
 ¥ 52
 hk 14
 north america £318m
 europe £200m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hong kongchina £28m
 rest of the world £41m 08
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chairman’s review
introduction
this is my first full year review as chairman of abcam and 
covers a period during which the global economic environment 
has continued to create challenges of exceptional scale and 
duration for many companies it is therefore very pleasing to 
report another outstanding performance from abcam
financial highlights
revenue increased by 252 to £711m 2009 £568m 
over the period we benefited from the relative weakness of 
sterling which had a positive impact on sales but less so than 
in recent years however underlying sales growth at constant 
currency rates was still very strong at 231 ie if foreign 
currency exchange rates had remained unchanged from 2009 
with good performances coming from each of our main 
geographic markets
operating profit increased by 616 to £256m 2009 £159m 
after a nonrecurring fixed asset impairment related charge of 
£11m this strong performance reflects some benefit from 
exchange rates but also good cost management in the purchasing 
of oem products greater production efficiency leading to lower 
costs for our own products and tight operational cost control 
which as sales have increased has enabled the benefits of the 
operational gearing of the business to come through although 
opportunities exist within the business for further operational 
gearing these are more limited and are unlikely to be at the 
same scale as in the 200910 financial year
lower interest rates led to a reduction in investment income 
meaning that the growth in profit before tax was 584 at £258m 
2009 £163m after a nonrecurring fixed asset impairment 
related charge of £11m after the award of sharebased 
incentives to employees and the issuing of new shares following 
the exercise of share options the growth in earnings per share 
eps was 545 to 5382p 2009 3483p
cash flow in the period has been exceptionally strong with cash 
generated from operations of £249m 2009 £164m prior to 
oneoff receipt of lease incentive of £11m operating cash flows 
before working capital movements were £287m 2009 £189m 
giving a cash conversion ratio of 868 2009 870 
at 30 june 2010 cash and shortterm deposits amounted 
to £402m 2009 £255m 
“ abcam has been resilient in the recent economic turmoil and we are fortunate 
in being geographically wellhedged in a market where increasing levels of 
research mean that demand continues apace for high quality research tools”
mike redmond chairman
business of the year at the 2009 business 
weekly east of england awards
ceo of the year at the quoted company 
awards 2010
ceo of the year at the european mediscience 
awards 2010
we are proud to have been recognised 
for our achievements several times 
during the year
company of the year at the 2009  
aim awards
 
  to read our full financial review and view our 
performance against kpis turn to pages 16 to 19 09
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
dividends
last year the board increased the dividend distribution ratio 
to 35 of posttax profit in the light of the strong cash flow and 
continued success of the group further progress has been made 
on both these fronts in the 200910 financial year and consequently 
the directors are recommending that the distribution ratio be 
increased to 375 an interim dividend of 542p per share 
was paid in april 2010 and the directors are recommending a 
final dividend of 1461p per share making a total of 2003p for 
the year an increase of 654 on that paid last year subject 
to shareholder approval at the annual general meeting agm in 
november the final dividend will be paid on 26 november 2010 
to shareholders on the register on 5 november 2010
proposed share subdivision
in recent years the market price of the company’s ordinary 
shares of one pence each has risen to a level where the board 
believes that it is appropriate to propose the subdivision of each 
of the existing ordinary shares into five new ordinary shares of 
02 pence each this may improve the liquidity and marketability 
of the ordinary shares of the company by reducing the market 
price of an ordinary share and increasing the number of shares 
in issue the board will seek approval from shareholders for the 
proposed subdivision at the company’s forthcoming agm 
in november 2010
people
i have been immensely impressed by the energy knowledge 
and commitment of our staff whom i would like to thank for their 
continued efforts on abcam’s behalf and in particular for their 
contribution to such a successful year 
we also greatly value all our other stakeholders – customers 
suppliers and shareholders – and appreciate their continued 
loyalty and support
outlook
abcam has been resilient in the recent economic turmoil and 
we are fortunate in being geographically wellhedged in a market 
where increasing levels of research mean that demand continues 
apace for high quality research tools the new financial year has 
started well with sales in line with management’s expectations 
however we still remain cautious due to the pressure on 
governments especially in the west to reduce their deficits 
and the potential for reductions in research funding which 
may impact our business 
mike redmond
chairman 
6 september 2010
above our customer support teams work to provide the best pre and 
postsales support to researchers
dedicated 
staff
our strategy
continually adding high quality products to 
our catalogue and increasing validation of our 
existing products with a rigorous focus on 
data gathering and presentation
providing high levels of customer service and 
support increasing local language support and 
extending phone line support opening hours
continually driving business improvement 
by optimising efficiency and scalability of 
internal processes
investing to drive longterm growth whilst 
maintaining tight cost control 10
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review
i am delighted to report on another successful year for abcam 
with sales at £711m and strong growth of 252 231 on 
a constant currency basis we continued to attract many new 
customers and gain market share through a combination of 
continually adding high quality products to our catalogue 
increasing validation of our existing products with a rigorous 
focus on data gathering and presentation and providing high 
levels of customer service and support
we also continue to invest to drive longerterm growth but thanks 
to tight cost control and the operational gearing in the business 
profit before tax increased by 584 to £258m 2009 £163m 
after a £11m charge associated with the restructuring at the 
production facility
market review
sales in north america grew by 201 to 502m £318m 
2009 418m £262m representing 447 of our total sales 
for the year we have continued to extend our commitment to 
improving service levels in the year particularly on the west coast 
where we have opened a small office in san francisco to increase 
access to customer support in the region and to promote abcam 
in the local market our programme of targeting other areas 
which we believe have high potential for sales growth has also 
contributed to this increase which is a pleasing result in a 
highly competitive market 
we have improved our service offering in europe during the year 
local language support is now available for extended periods 
each day to allow better access for researchers to our customer 
support teams and we are now able to offer sameday receipt 
and despatch of orders to more customers across europe 
emphasising knowledge 
training and experience
we are building a great company by recruiting 
excellent people our company culture is one that 
empowers individuals with responsibility given at an 
early stage we are able to attract and retain the best 
calibre employees by creating a challenging yet fun 
environment where everyone is working together 
for success
corporate culture
“ i am delighted to report on another successful year for abcam with 
sales at £711m and strong growth of 252”
jonathan milner chief executive officer
this year team leaders from 
across the organisation took 
part in a management framework 
programme ensuring excellent 
people management throughout 
the business 
we have an open plan environment 
that encourages communication 
between departments ideas and 
problems are shared for the 
best outcome  11
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
in addition we have been successful in appointing nonexclusive 
distributors within certain european countries to enable us to sell 
to organisations not otherwise accessible to us sales to europe 
grew by 205 to €227m £200m 2009 €189m £163m 
representing 282 of our total sales for the year
we also had a successful year in the uk which is our most 
highly penetrated market and where we have a market leadership 
position sales grew by 153 to £56m 2009 £49m representing 
79 of our total sales for the year the growth rate in the second 
half of the financial year was slightly higher than in the first half 
but the funding pressures we saw in the first half are still a feature 
of the market
we continued the development of relationships with our network 
of subdealers in japan who have handled all our sales since 
january 2009 working with them enables us to get closer to 
our customers than was previously the case and to build on the 
feedback we receive to better identify and fulfil our customers’ 
requirements sales in japan grew by 397 to ¥983m £68m 
2009 ¥704m £46m representing 95 of our total sales 
for the year
we opened our sales and marketing office in hong kong in july 2009 
initially to drive sales in china and hong kong but with the longerterm 
aim of taking on the management of our distributor network in 
south east asia it has been a very busy year for the team as they 
have been recruiting staff appointing distributors in china and 
improving our delivery capability into china through the selection 
of a local company to handle the importation of our products 
“the supply chain team specialises 
in the management of our stock pipeline we work 
with a variety of departments ensuring customers 
get the products they want quickly a key 
achievement during the final quarter of the 
year has been fulfilling over 78 of orders 
directly from stock”
above our inhouse manufacturing laboratory specialises in purification 
techniques a vital step in isolating single proteins of interest 
laura 
supply chain and 
customs operations
we undertake regular staff surveys to gather feedback 
and ensure everyone has a voice see what staff said 
about abcam on the inside back cover
inhouse  
testing 12
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review continued
market review continued
we expect it will take several years to develop our position in 
the chinese market to its full potential but we have made good 
progress in the year as sales to hong kong and china grew by 
622 to hk343m £28m 2009 hk211m £17m or 
39 of total sales
sales to the rest of the world which is predominantly the 
remainder of south east asia and is mostly served through local 
distributors increased by 298 to 65m £41m 2009 50m 
£31m representing 58 of total sales for the year we continue 
to work closely with our distributor network and build on initiatives 
to improve our proximity to our researchers which is a recurring 
theme throughout our business and will be assisted by our 
south east asian business now being managed locally through 
our hong kong office 
catalogue growth
we have increased the number of products in the catalogue 
by 202 during the year to 63010 including over 50000 
antibodies of the 10610 new products over 7700 are 
antibodies from our supplier base which continues to give us 
access to many top quality antibodies and almost 700 were our 
own produced antibodies we have also extended the breadth 
of antibodyrelated reagents we offer by over 2200 products 
including adding more elisa kits ihc reagents proteins and 
other protein detection tools the largest by number were proteins 
and growth in protein sales in the year was over 50 at £12m
developing our business 
through communication
we value communication with our staff suppliers 
customers and the scientific community ideally we like 
to meet face to face at tradeshows conferences and 
key account activities one way for us to gain insight 
into customer needs is with focus groups in the past 
year we held three meeting with scientists and discussing 
the challenges they face in their labs today
customer engagement
we run quarterly surveys to 
speak with customers and monitor 
satisfaction with our products 
and services 
our market research team is able to gather intelligence 
quickly by polling customers on a range of topics we act 
swiftly on feedback and inform future business decisions 
above our open plan environment fosters crossdepartmental 
communication everyone working together for the best outcome
developing 
leaders 13
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
new products added during the year contributed £27m to 
sales in total representing 38 of total sales as information is 
added to these products through external publications customer 
feedback and our own characterisation we expect sales from 
them to increase over time
during the year we refined our inventory purchasing methodology 
with the aim of improving customer service levels by increasing 
the number of orders that can be fulfilled directly from stock 
this has resulted in an increase in inventory on a selective basis 
and as a result the closing inventory level was £91m 2009 £68m 
ecommerce and marketing
the performance of the website is key to our success and during 
the year we have continued to invest to improve both the website 
functionality and accessibility the response time for users around 
the world has improved by an average of 29 during the year 
and we have launched a chinese version of the site to support 
our marketing initiatives in that region 
we pride ourselves on our ability to work closely across our 
business disciplines for example our ecommerce it and 
marketing departments work together on our ongoing programme 
aimed at making the marketing to our customer database more 
effective and more relevant this has been very successful over 
the years and continues to drive record numbers of visits to our 
website which saw an increase of 29 over last year 
the development and implementation of a new software 
module means that we can now undertake promotional activities 
which can be targeted at particular audiences and at particular 
complementary product ranges making our marketing much 
more efficient and cost effective we look forward to building on 
our ecommerce model which will serve us well as we expand our 
range of protein detection tools 
our conference programme is a very effective marketing tool 
enabling us to promote abcam at the same time as hearing first 
hand from speakers and attendees about new developments at 
the cutting edge of research in the 200910 financial year we 
held over a dozen events in locations across the world and were 
delighted with the calibre of speakers we were able to attract 
the year also saw record levels of customer satisfaction with 
the scientific quality of the conferences and several events were 
oversubscribed demonstrating our increased success in this area 
our production facility
we reorganised our production facility during the 200809 
financial year since which time great strides forward have 
been made in terms of production efficiency and in meeting our 
ongoing commitment to increase characterisation data on our 
products the images provided by the production facility feed 
into our strategy of continually adding data to the catalogue from 
a range of sources which this year included a continuation of 
our programme of commissioning data provision from selected 
third parties
“ we have increased the number of products in the catalogue by 202 
during the year to 63010 including over 50000 antibodies”
“this year were redesigning our product 
datasheets these represent the most important 
content on our website so we created a beta site 
allowing us to share and seek feedback on the new 
design and functionality in advance of a 
mainstream launch”
kieran
business development
our library of technical 
literature is very popular 
with customers who use 
them as teaching aids  14
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review continued
our production facility continued
production in the year was at record levels through improved 
management of our product pipeline and an overhaul of our 
processes which also saw the introduction of a new quality control 
system to ensure quality is maintained as production increases 
efficiency initiatives and people
a review of the year would not be complete without reference to 
our drive for efficiency improvements which has been an integral 
part of our thinking since the company was founded during the 
year we have reduced the size of our packaging and designed a 
smaller format of the data sheets which we use when shipping 
products to customers this has increased efficiency as the new 
packs are easier to handle whilst also improving our ability to 
maintain a temperaturecontrolled environment during shipping 
as part of this initiative we redesigned the holders in which we 
ship vials to make them smaller and lighter the new holders are 
coloured interconnecting abcambranded bricks helping to 
improve efficiency whilst also representing a significant marketing 
opportunity and have been a great success with customers
the dedication ability and sheer enthusiasm of our staff are an 
inspiration and it is their efforts that are behind the company’s 
achievements so enormous thanks to them i would also like to 
welcome mike redmond as our new chairman who is already 
making a significant contribution to the board
fostering a creative 
approach
to ensure we maintain efficiency and develop our 
product offering employees are encouraged to 
champion their ideas this culture of improvement and 
innovation ensures we have a pipeline of opportunities 
to assess creating added value to customers whilst 
increasing profitability of the group if it’s something 
we’re passionate about and is beneficial to customers 
and the business we’ll make it happen
constant innov ation
“ the dedication ability and sheer enthusiasm of our staff are an 
inspiration and it is their efforts that are behind the company’s 
achievements”
processing thousands of 
orders every year we spend a lot 
of time labelling products with no 
automated solution on the market 
we codeveloped an automated vial 
labelling machine this improved 
the efficiency of our operation teams 
fourfold and the design patent 
offers future licensing opportunities 
above our characteristic packaging is very popular with customers 
reducing waste and giving storage flexibility 
we’ve also integrated dry ice shipping facilities enabling us to 
provide customers with a more extensive range of temperature 
sensitive proteins
innovative 
packaging
 
  for more on our staff and their thoughts on 
working at abcam turn to the inside back cover 15
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
abcam is uniquely positioned
pressure on governments to address deficits 
could reduce research funding which may 
impact our business
resilient business model – geographically well 
hedged with global reach
business continues to be highly cash generative 
with a strong balance sheet
global market demand for research antibody 
reagents continues to increase
an exciting and challenging time as we look to 
both strengthen our leading market position and 
capitalise on new opportunities in protein 
detection and regulation studies
extending into these areas through organic 
oemtype deals as well as strategic 
investment possibilities
strategic development
abcam’s ruthless focus on giving our customers the widest 
possible choice of antibody research tools for detection and study 
of their proteins has created a very successful business which has 
been able to continually and sustainably generate significant 
value for all its stakeholders we have a proven and defensible 
business model delivering strong underlying growth with the 
potential to expand by leveraging our ecommerce model supply 
side strategy strong brand and customer base 
this is an exciting and challenging time for abcam as we look to 
both strengthen our market position as the leader in antibody 
research tools and at the same time expand our product offering 
into the broader area of protein detection and regulation studies 
we believe that we are well placed to achieve these goals 
abcam’s success to date has resulted from our singleminded 
focus on refining our core business model and incrementally 
expanding it so that it is aligned to the needs of the researcher 
supporting them in the study of proteins to unlock the secrets of 
cells in health and disease this is a commitment that we at 
abcam have all signed up to deliver through a combination of 
continuing organic growth for example via oemtype deals and 
also looking for strategic investment opportunities
jonathan milner
chief executive officer
6 september 2010
elodie
business intelligence 
and opportunities
we place considerable value on the 
involvement of our employees  
turn to page 26 for an overview of our 
corporate social and ethical policies
“the bio team works to  
identify exciting ideas from new business 
opportunities to operational efficiencies and 
turns the most valuable ideas into projects 
this year one of our projects was to introduce 
platforms to handle new product types”  16
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
financial review
“ during the year we were successful in effectively managing increases 
in our average selling prices whilst controlling costs from suppliers 
and our own production costs gross margin reported for the period 
was 667 compared with 658 for the previous year”
dividend per share pence
06 07 08 09 10
2003
270
399
560
1211
basic eps pence
06 07 08 09 10
5382
1117
1174
1688
3483
our performance at a glance
serving global markets 
china is currently our fastest growing market 
we expect it will take several years to develop 
our position in the chinese market but we 
have made good progress in the year as sales 
to hong kong and china grew by 622
abcam’s results continue 
to demonstrate the 
resilience of the specialist 
area of research antibodies 
in which we operate
jeff iliffe chief financial officer
revenue
revenue increased in the year by 252 to £711m or by 231 
on a constant currency basis sterling was relatively stronger for 
the second half of the financial year meaning that some of the 
revenue boost from comparative exchange rates recorded at the 
half year stage was reversed the weighted average exchange 
rates applied to revenue in the year are shown in the table on 
the opposite page 
gross margin
during the year we were successful in effectively managing 
increases in our average selling prices whilst controlling costs 
from suppliers and our own production costs gross margin 
reported for the period was 667 compared with 658 for the 
previous year which comprised an increase of 18 in underlying 
margin including 07 from units sold under product line 
acquisition agreements and a 09 negative impact from 
exchange rates
the weakness of sterling against each of our trading currencies 
contributed to an increase in sterlingtranslated average unit selling 
prices the negative impact on margin however resulted from the 
comparative rates for the us dollar which was the transactional 
currency for 509 of sales in the year but for 658 of the costs 
of units sold in the year since on average the us dollar was 
stronger over the previous year this had a proportionately larger 
impact on costs thereby reducing gross margin 
an analysis of the foreign currency components of revenue and 
cost of sales together with average exchange rates used for 
revenue in the period is given in the table opposite
 excluding dividends paid prior to flotation 17
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
the group management 
uses key performance 
indicators kpis to 
monitor the progress 
of the business 
important kpis are
 average exchange rate percentage currency 
 used for revenue contribution in 200910
      200910 200809 revenue cost of sales 
      £  £    
us dollar       1579 1595  509 658
euro       1135 1160  278 81
japanese yen       145155 151880  95 26
hong kong dollar       12282 na  39 —
sterling       — — 79 235
        1000 1000 
 sales were made in hong kong dollars for the first time this year
   2010 2009 2008 change 0910
number of products in catalogue   63010  52400  44028 202
number of publications referencing abcam products

  10825 8224 3639 316
revenue per employee £000   281 265 220 60
profit before tax to revenue    363 287 217 265
number of debtor days at year end   33 32 34 31
orders fulfilled directly from stock average for the year  765 743 685 30
administration and management expenses
administration and management expenses in 200809 included 
an impairment charge of £11m relating to fixed assets associated 
with the highvolume production processes no longer used in the 
business excluding this charge administration and management 
expenses increased by £07m to £181m 2009 £174m
there was tight cost control in the period and as revenue 
increased the operational gearing of the business came through 
the main movements in costs arose as a result of
  a 20 increase in average headcount excluding laboratory 
staff in particular to increase staff resources in the 
company’s ecommerce and it functions and customer 
support areas
  an increase in profitrelated pay to employees following the 
substantial increase in profit during the year 
  an 88 increase in the sharebased payments charge as 
a result of the increase in headcount and the charge for the 
ltip which was extended in the current year to include 
more managers in the business and
  an increase in production recoveries credited back 
to profit and loss following the rise in the number of 
polyclonal projects initiated last year after the move away 
from highvolume monoclonal production 
  source thomson isi web of knowledge httpisiwebofknowledgecom 18
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
financial review continued
administration and management expenses continued
costs were also incurred in the previous year in addition to 
the £11m impairment loss mentioned above which were not 
repeated this year
  costs associated with the office moves to larger premises 
in the uk and japan which included a period of overlap 
between the leases of the old and new premises whilst 
the new premises were refurbished and
  a gain arising on exchange this year of £04m as compared 
to a loss in the previous year of £01m
although opportunities exist within the business for further 
operational gearing these are more limited and are unlikely to 
be at the same scale as in the 2010 financial year
research and development expenditure
research and development rd expenditure relates to the research 
costs for new polyclonal and monoclonal products as well as 
costs incurred in searching for and testing different applications 
in which those products can be used rd expenditure increased 
by 203 in the year to £37m 2009 £31m reflecting the 
increased investment in these areas it is anticipated that rd 
expenditure will remain at a similar level for the coming year 
incorporating additional investment which will be offset by cost 
savings obtained through renegotiation of certain supply contracts 
since the company’s rd expenditure does not meet the 
requirements to be capitalised as an intangible asset the costs 
are expensed through the income statement as incurred
profit
after adding back the ongoing sharebased payments charge 
operating profit expressed as a percentage of sales was 372 
2009 288 including the impairment charge of £11m 
referred to previously 
investment revenue fell in the year despite strong cash generation 
reflecting the much reduced returns in the market on cash deposits
tax
the consolidated tax charge for the year was £66m or 256 of 
profit before tax 2009 246 reflecting the relative fall in the 
rd tax credit uplift compared to profits generated 
inventories
the group has strong inventory management systems which 
operate at the individual product level and are aimed at balancing 
high stock availability for customers whilst minimising the levels 
of working capital tied up in inventory during the year the decision 
was taken to further improve service levels by increasing the stock 
holding for those products deemed most likely to have insufficient 
stock in hand to be able to immediately fulfil customer orders 
as a result in the last quarter of the year we were able to fulfil 
793 of orders directly from stock compared to the average 
for the first nine months of 756 
over time we expect the levels of stock to increase relative to 
sales since abcam products developed inhouse may involve 
batch sizes larger than are required for immediate sale as more 
stock is built up in overseas distribution offices to enable higher 
levels of service in local markets and as we increase stock levels 
of particular own produced products as part of the initiative 
mentioned above
debtors
the strong debtor control processes have continued to operate 
effectively and debtor days at the year end were 326 2009 320 
the majority of sales continue to be on credit and we would expect 
to see a trend of slowly increasing debtor days over time as 
the geographic spread of sales widens in line with practice 
in local markets
creditors 
current liabilities rose from £86m to £101m current tax 
liabilities increased by £08m to £27m 2009 £19m reflecting 
the increase in taxable profit during the year and there was a 
credit balance on derivative instruments of £06m 2009 £nil 
trade and other payables contains deferred income of £13m 
2009 £13m including £08m of the cash incentive of £11m 
received on entering into a new lease for the head office during 
last year 2009 £10m which is to be credited to profit and loss 
 “ in the last quarter of the year we were able to fulfil 793 of orders directly 
from stock compared to the average for the first nine months of 756”
above over 78 of orders are now fulfilled directly from stock
global 
distribution 19
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
financial highlights
sales up 252 to £711m 2009 £568m 
231 up on a constant currency basis
operating profit increased by 616 to 
£256m 2009 £159m
eps increased by 545 to 5382p 2009 3483p
closing cashshortterm deposits of £402m 
2009 £255m
proposed 554 increase in final dividend 
to 1461p 2009 940p giving a 654 
increase for the year
analysis of revenue cost of sales and expenses by currency
 £ 79
 € 278
  509
 £ 235
 € 81
  658
 ¥ 95
 hk 39
 ¥ 26
 hk 00
revenue cost of sales
over the life of the lease excluding this deferred income the 
remainder of trade and other payables increased by 30 to 
£56m 2009 £54m
cash flow
the group’s cash flow continues to be strong with cash 
generated from operating activities after taxes of £197m 
2009 £148m including the receipt of the £11m lease incentive 
referred to above consequently after total payments of £60m 
2009 £41m relating to dividends paid investment in property 
plant and equipment and upfront payments for licence fees 
and income of £09m 2009 £04m from the exercise of share 
options the group’s cash and shortterm deposits increased 
during the year by £147m
the shortterm deposits are cash deposits held with major uk 
banks which had a maturity date of over three months when the 
deposit was made
earnings per share eps
the number of shares issued during the year for the exercise 
of share options and for shares issued into the employee benefit 
trust was relatively small at 425192 2009 458669 meaning 
that as posttax profit grew by 564 2009 1087 the growth 
in basic eps was 545 2009 1063 and in diluted eps 
was 538 2009 1063 
currency exposure
the group continues to generate significant amounts of us dollars 
euros and japanese yen in excess of payments in these currencies 
and has arrangements in place to reduce the exposure to currency 
fluctuations by selling forward a proportion of the surpluses 
generated details of these contracts are set out in note 24 
jeff iliffe
chief financial officer 
6 september 2010
 £ 78
 € 278
  509
 £ 235
 € 81
  658
 ¥ 95
 hk 39
 ¥ 26
 hk 00
 £ 639
 € 09
  286
 ¥ 52
 hk 14
 north america £318m
 europe £200m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hong kongchina £28m
 rest of the world £41m
 £ 78
 € 278
  509
 £ 235
 € 81
  658
 ¥ 95
 hk 39
 ¥ 26
 hk 00
 £ 639
 € 09
  286
 ¥ 52
 hk 14
 north america £318m
 europe £200m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hong kongchina £28m
 rest of the world £41m
 £ 639
 € 09
  286
 ¥ 52
 hk 14
expenses excluding profit
loss on exchange
 £ 78
 € 278
  509
 £ 235
 € 81
  658
 ¥ 95
 hk 39
 ¥ 26
 hk 00
 £ 639
 € 09
  286
 ¥ 52
 hk 14
 north america £318m
 europe £200m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hong kongchina £28m
 rest of the world £41m annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
20
board of directors
looking for advisor details 
turn to page 22 for our full 
corporate directory
1
3
5
7
2
4
6
8 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
21
1 mike redmond
chairman
mike redmond who joined abcam in february 2009 has substantial 
international experience in the pharmaceutical industry gained in both 
executive and nonexecutive capacities at businesses ranging from 
multinational organisations to startup companies he is currently chairman 
of dechra pharmaceuticals plc and his recent chairmanships include synexus 
clinical research plc arakis limited and microscience limited his executive 
career began at glaxo group plc in 1967 and he has held senior executive 
positions in marketing and management at companies including 
schering plough corporation and fisons plc
3 jim warwick ma
chief operating officer
jim warwick has an ma in computer science from the university of cambridge 
from 1986 to 2003 he worked for analysys limited a cambridgebased 
telecommunications consultancy heading up its it software and web 
development initiatives jim joined abcam in 2001 as technical director 
focusing on the development of the website and the systems integral to support 
it and took over operational management of the uk office as managing 
director in june 2004 in this capacity he worked on both costsaving and 
efficiency improvement projects including the barcoding and automation of 
inventory handling within the group jim is responsible for overseeing the 
operational strategy of the business and in particular ensuring the continued 
scalability and efficiency of the company in 2009 jim took on the role of 
chief operating officer with operational responsibility for the group as a whole
5 mark webster
nonexecutive director
mark webster is an experienced pharmaceutical marketeer who joined 
abcam’s board as a nonexecutive director in july 2006 he is a chemistry 
graduate from durham university who has worked at a number of international 
pharmaceutical companies including abbott laboratories limited shire 
pharmaceuticals group plc bayer ag and prostrakan group plc where as 
head of global marketing and north america he was responsible for setting 
up prostrakan’s us business at bayer he held the position of senior vice 
president global marketing and licensingacquisitions and was also a member 
of bayer pharmaceutical’s management committee as vice president of 
antivirals us pharmaceuticals at abbott he launched the hiv drug kaletra 
which generated more than 1bn in revenue
7 peter keen aca
nonexecutive and senior independent director
peter keen joined abcam’s board in october 2005 prior to the company’s 
ipo and is a chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ experience in 
the financing and management of biotechnology companies he is currently 
chairman of exosect limited and a nonexecutive director of ark therapeutics 
group plc and of the biotech growth trust plc peter has a notable track 
record in the uk biotechnology sector and until march 2010 was corporate 
development and finance director of the private biotechnology company 
serentis ltd he was cofounder and finance director of chiroscience group 
plc after which he helped establish merlin biosciences limited where he was 
responsible for a number of investments including ark therapeutics group plc 
cyclacel reneuron plc and vectura group plc more recently he was chief 
financial officer of arakis limited until its successful trade sale in 2005 and 
a partner with the technology venture firm dfj esprit llp 
2 jonathan milner phd
chief executive officer
jonathan milner is a highly experienced entrepreneur and business 
leader with a background in genetic research he gained his doctorate in 
molecular genetics at leicester university after graduating in applied biology 
at bath university from 1992 to 1995 he was a research fellow for pfizer 
pharmaceuticals at bath university following which he was a research fellow 
at the university of cambridge in the laboratory of professor tony kouzarides 
studying genes and proteins associated with human cancers whilst working 
in research he identified the potential market opportunity in supplying high 
quality antibodies to support protein interaction studies he founded abcam 
with david cleevely and professor tony kouzarides in february 1998 as an 
internetbased business to supply a rapidly growing market he is an active 
member of the cambridge uk business community and is chairman of 
cambridge temperature concepts limited a privately held medical device 
company developing a reliable system for ovulation monitoring
4 jeff iliffe aca
chief financial officer
jeff iliffe is a qualified accountant who was appointed as abcam’s chief 
financial officer in november 2007 having previously worked for the 
company as a financial consultant he has extensive relevant experience of the 
city industry and internetbased business jeff was a corporate financier in life 
sciences at panmure gordon  co between 1989 and 1996 he then moved 
into industry holding a number of financial positions at companies including 
the environmental consultancy enviros group limited and the biotechnology 
company plethora solutions plc prior to joining abcam he was chief financial 
officer at the ecommerce company st minver ltd
6 tony kouzarides phd
nonexecutive director
tony kouzarides is a cofounder of abcam and has played a key role in 
expanding abcam’s antibody product range into the chromatin research area 
professor kouzarides holds the royal society napier professorship in cancer 
biology at the university of cambridge uk where he leads a laboratory that 
investigates the basic cellular role of chromatinmodifying enzymes and their 
role in human cancer he is a cofounder of chroma therapeutics limited 
which identifies drugs against cancer and is the founder and director of 
cancer charity conquer cancer operating in spain 
8 tim dye ma
nonexecutive director
tim dye has founded and led businesses in a number of different sectors 
until january 2008 he was chief executive of william ransom  son plc 
one of the uks longest established pharmaceutical companies with a 
specialisation in natural healthcare prior to joining ransom in 1999 and 
following an early career as a strategy consultant he founded and ran 
businesses in automated meter reading environmental management and 
property development he has an ma in economics from the university 
of cambridge 22
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
corporate directory
registered office
330 cambridge science park 
milton road 
cambridge 
cb4 0fl
registered number
3509322
company secretary
jeff iliffe
nominated advisor and broker
numis securities limited 
the london stock exchange building 
10 paternoster square 
london 
ec4m 7lt
solicitor
eversheds llp 
1 wood street 
london 
ec2v 7ws
auditors
deloitte llp 
chartered accountants 
cambridge uk
public relations advisor
buchanan communications limited 
45 moorfields 
london 
ec2y 9ae
banker
national westminster bank plc 
king’s parade 
cambridge 
cb2 3pu
registrar
capita registrars 
northern house 
woodsome park 
fenay bridge 
huddersfield 
hd8 0ga 23
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
report on affairs of the group
the directors present their annual report on the affairs of the group together with the financial statements and the independent auditors’ report 
for the year ended 30 june 2010
principal activities and future developments
the group’s activities consist of the development marketing and distribution of antibodies and related products it sells through the internet to 
customers in most countries of the world operating through its parent company abcam plc and through its wholly owned subsidiaries abcam inc 
abcam kk and abcam hong kong limited 
antibodies are sourced from over 250 of the world’s leading primary manufacturers academic laboratories and institutes and the group also 
produces its own antibodies in its production facility in cambridge uk abcam intends to both strengthen its market position in antibody 
research tools whilst at the same time expanding its product offering into the broader area of protein detection and regulation studies through 
a combination of continuing organic growth as well as looking for strategic investment opportunities
further future developments are addressed in the chairman’s review chief executive officer’s review and financial review on pages 8 to 19
business review
the group’s management uses key performance indicators kpis to monitor the progress of the business important kpis are
        30 june  30 june  30 june 
        2010 2009  2008
number of products in catalogue       63010 52400  44028 
number of publications referencing abcam products
1
      10825 8224  3639 
revenue per employee £000       281 265  220 
profit before tax to revenue       363 287
2
  217 
number of debtor days at year end       33 32  34 
orders fulfilled directly from stock average for year      765 743  685 
1 source thomson isi web of knowledge httpisiwebofknowledgecom
2   including £11m impairment of tangible assets associated with the higher volume production processes which will not be implemented
sales increased by 252 in the year 231 on a constant exchange rate basis as a result of continued increases in sales from the existing 
catalogue as well as the launch of new products the group continued to generate strong margins and pretax profits for the year increased 
to £258m 2009 £163m after the £11m charge associated with the impairment of fixed assets following the restructuring of the 
production facility
cash generation remained strong in the year with the group’s closing cash and shortterm deposits standing at £402m 2009 £255m
further analysis of the year’s results as well as the outlook for the coming year is set out in the chairman’s review the chief executive officer’s 
review and the financial review on pages 8 to 19
principal risks and uncertainties
the board of directors has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the group’s risk management framework 
risk management policies are constantly reviewed taking into account market conditions and the group’s activities the board 
receives a formal risk management update twice a year 
the group faces the competitive and strategic risks that are inherent in a rapidly growing company further information on those risks and 
how they are managed by the group is set out below and on the following pages
competitors
there are several hundred antibody suppliers around the world these include companies ranging from dedicated antibody suppliers to large 
multinational companies selling broad ranges of other products in addition to antibodies abcam’s rapid growth may attract new competitors 
andor stimulate existing competitors some of which have greater financial marketing and technological resources than abcam to invest 
further in their offerings to the market
abcam already sources products from many of the world’s leading suppliers and in response to this risk continues to build its supplier and 
product base invest in the functionality of its website and its operational capability the challenges for a competitor would include establishing 
a suitably large catalogue of products with proven validation in research sold under an established and successful brand and if they were to 
follow abcam’s supply model building relationships with a broad range of high quality suppliers
loss of suppliers
abcam may lose a supplier if for example that supplier’s business strategy changed or it was no longer willing or able to continue to 
provide products
abcam has over 250 suppliers and has had relationships with many of them for several years with growing levels of sales which makes this 
less likely if this were to occur abcam often has several antibodies to the same target and whilst each is unique in the event of a particular 
product no longer being available abcam would look to offer customers alternative products from within the catalogue in the 2010 financial 
year no supplier accounted for more than 5 of revenue
abcam has its own production capability which could also be utilised to generate alternative products products from the facility currently 
contribute approximately 16 of total group revenue 24
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
report on affairs of the group continued
principal risks and uncertainties continued
intellectual property 
research antibodies are not typically protected by intellectual property rights and the market can be characterised as having relatively low 
barriers to entry in this regard however where such rights are claimed to be the subject of third party patents or other proprietary rights 
abcam may be the subject of infringement actions or proceedings 
abcam believes that its principal protection in the market lies with its business model rather than through intellectual property rights 
the breadth of highly specified products in its catalogue its ability to add products quickly and cheaply its extensive supplier base and 
its own production capability and brand each act as significant barriers to entry for competitors 
movement of goods
the group’s activities involve importing and exporting its products across many international borders any changes to the regulations covering 
such movements might have an effect on the group’s trading activities
abcam closely monitors any changes to international import and export regulations and seeks to adapt its procedures wherever possible 
to ensure that the movement of products is not affected whilst maintaining compliance with such regulations 
infrastructure
abcam operates in a market which it has been able to exploit through the use of online and ecommerce based systems these systems need 
to be robust efficient and scalable in order for the group to continue to manage its growth the risks here are both from the infrastructure and 
organisation of the it systems as well as the ability of abcam’s products to be found by online users through popular internet search engines 
the company invests extensively in its it systems both from a scalability and security point of view as well as from usability aspects 
abcam uses a global content delivery partner to increase both the reliability and access speed for viewing the majority of its static site content 
dynamic content is served from an external fully supported data centre the company outsources regular security penetration testing on its 
website from a third party and pays considerable attention internally to the search engine optimisation and usability of the website through 
user testing feedback and surveys
staff recruitment and retention
the contribution made by abcam’s highly skilled and dedicated staff has been and will continue to be important to abcam’s future success 
as the group’s profile grows it is important that it is able to continue to recruit and retain high calibre staff
abcam places great emphasis on open communication with employees including quarterly companywide meetings weekly office meetings 
and regular staff committee meetings there are also share ownership schemes and profit share arrangements for all employees with rewards 
based on seniority within the business
use of distributors
in certain areas of the world abcam works through third party distributors who undertake marketing support activities and provide local 
logistical support consequently abcam is dependent on them fulfilling these roles in an effective and efficient manner so as to enable sales 
to continue to grow in these regions the distributors act as customers and so also represent a financial risk for uncollected account balances
abcam has a team dedicated to maintaining close relationships with our distributors they typically work on annual contracts and there is 
a detailed qualification process which they are required to go through before being appointed outside of japan where subdealers are used 
distributor sales amounted to around 10 of total sales in the 2010 financial year and no single distributor accounted for more than 
3 of total sales
technology
it is possible that new technologies may emerge in the future as viable alternatives to the use of antibodies in protein detection 
in order to mitigate this risk abcam has many contacts in the industry and an internal group specifically targeted at this area in this way 
abcam looks to stay abreast of technological developments in the field as far as is practicable with the aim of positioning the company 
to exploit the commercialisation of such technologies if they appear
exchange rates
the group has an exposure to exchange rate fluctuation in particular the strength of sterling relative to the us dollar euro and japanese yen 
although there are natural hedges in place due to the fact that the group is able to utilise a proportion of its income in foreign currencies 
in particular the us dollar to pay for outgoings in those currencies the group generates surpluses of each currency
the board’s policy is to sell forward some of the expected surplus in order to reduce the shortterm exposure however longerterm 
movements in the relative strength of sterling will impact the group’s profits
credit risk
credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss trade receivables consist 
of a large number of customers spread across diverse geographical areas the group does not have a significant credit risk exposure to any 
single counterparty ongoing credit evaluation is performed on the financial condition of accounts receivable and consideration is given as 
to whether there is any impairment in the value of any amounts owing the standard payment terms for receivables other than intragroup 
balances are 30 days any variation in these terms requires authorisation by senior management yearend debtor days are 326 days 
2009 320 days
the credit risk on liquid funds and derivative financial instruments is limited because the counterparties are banks with high creditratings 
assigned by international creditrating agencies funds are split between at least two institutions 25
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
principal risks and uncertainties continued
liquidity risk management
ultimate responsibility for liquidity risk management rests with the board of directors which has built an appropriate liquidity risk 
management framework for the management of the group’s short medium and longterm funding and liquidity management requirements
the group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate reserves and banking facilities by continuously monitoring cash flows and 
matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities
the group and company hold cash deposits at call or with a maturity of up to twelve months at 30 june 2010 the average maturity of 
balances was 146 days 2009 47 days of fixed rate deposits not sensitive to changes in interest rates sufficient funds are readily available 
to the company to meet operational requirements
trade payables are normally payable within 30 days of invoice and the standard payment terms for intragroup receivables are 45 days
for further details of the group’s risk management strategy see note 24
directors’ indemnities
the company has made qualifying third party indemnity provisions for the benefit of its directors which were made during the reporting 
period and remain in force at the date of this report
research and development rd
the group undertakes rd in areas related to its principal activities and this is discussed in the financial review on pages 16 to 19 
during the year the group spent £37m 2009 £31m on rd
dividends
as detailed in the chairman’s review the directors have taken the decision to propose an increase in the total annual dividend to 2003p 
2009 1211p this represents a distribution of 375 of profit after tax compared with the previous policy of a 35 annual distribution
the directors therefore propose paying a final dividend of 1461p 2009 940p per ordinary share to be paid on 26 november 2010 to 
shareholders on the register on 5 november 2010 together with the interim dividend of 542p per share paid on 1 april 2010 this makes 
a combined dividend for the year of 2003p 2009 1211p
capital structure
details of the authorised and issued share capital together with details of the movements in the company’s issued share capital during the 
year are shown in notes 25 and 26 the company has one class of ordinary share which carries no right to fixed income each share carries 
the right to one vote at general meetings of the company
there are no specific restrictions on the size of a holding nor on the transfer of shares which are both governed by the general provisions 
of the company’s articles of association and prevailing legislation
the board is proposing the subdivision of each of the existing ordinary shares into five new ordinary shares of 02 pence each this may 
improve the liquidity and marketability of the ordinary shares of the company by reducing the market price of an ordinary share and increasing 
the number of shares in issue approval from shareholders for the proposed subdivision will be sought at the company’s forthcoming agm 
in november 2010
with regard to the appointment and replacement of directors the company is governed by the articles of association the companies act and 
related legislation and although not obliged to do so as an aim listed company has chosen to follow the principles set out in the revised 2008 
combined code on corporate governance ‘the code’ wherever possible
directors
the interests of the directors in the share capital of the company at 30 june 2010 other than with respect to sharebased options and 
awards and shares conditionally awarded through the share incentive plan which are detailed in the directors’ remuneration report on 
pages 36 and 37 were as follows
         1p ordinary  1p ordinary 
         shares on  shares on 
         30 june  30 june 
         2010 2009
mike redmond         15000 — 
jonathan milner         5739031 7085280 
jim warwick         580060 853520 
jeff iliffe         500 320 
mark webster         — — 
tony kouzarides         80244 114244 
peter keen         33825 8982 
tim dye        2500 — 
there have been no changes in the directors’ interests in shares of the company between 30 june 2010 and 6 september 2010  26
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
report on affairs of the group continued
directors continued
three directors will be retiring and offering themselves for reelection at the agm to be held in november 2010
•	 tony kouzarides who has been a nonexecutive director for over nine years and retires in line with the principles set out in the code
•	 jonathan milner who last stood for reelection in 2007 and retires by rotation as required by the company’s articles of association and
•	  jeff iliffe who is retiring under the provisions of the company’s articles of association regarding the minimum number of directors required 
to retire each year
following performance evaluation the chairman has determined that each individual continues to demonstrate commitment to his role and to 
display effective performance he is therefore recommending reelection of all directors standing at this year’s agm
supplier payment policy
it is the group’s policy that payments to suppliers are made in accordance with the terms and conditions agreed with them provided that the 
supplier has provided the goods or services in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions at 30 june 2010 the group had an average 
of 29 days of purchases 2009 19 days outstanding in trade creditors excluding accruals and deferred income
charitable and political donations and community support
abcam participates actively in the community of entrepreneurial businesses clustered around cambridge uk the company supports the 
cambridge network the university of cambridge and the judge business school both by giving talks and presentations on its business as 
well as hosting projects for mba students abcam takes students from secondary education on work experience programmes as well as 
occasional international exchange students on placement
the group encourages employees to get involved in local charitable activities a maximum of 01 of the previous year’s pretax profit is 
allocated for charitable donations which is split between the uk us japanese and hong kong offices these are allocated by a committee 
of staff volunteers working within guidelines set down by the directors
the group made no political donations during the year 2009 £nil and made charitable donations of £15401 2009 £4113 principally 
to children’s and local charities serving the communities in which the group operates
substantial shareholdings
on 26 august 2010 the company had been notified in accordance with chapter 5 of the disclosure and transparency rules of the following 
voting rights as a shareholder of the company excluding directors’ interests which are set out on page 25
         number  percentage 
         of ordinary  of issued 
         shares held  share capital
blackrock investment management         2943430 819
baillie gifford        2876720 800
standard life investments        2428304 675
aegon asset management        1977383 550
artemis investment management         1642609 457
fidelity investments         1501239 418
wasatch advisors         1334022 371
william blair  company        1152856 321
merrill lynch international        1113091 310
corporate social and ethical policies
abcam recognises the importance of balancing the interests of its customers shareholders employees suppliers and the communities in 
which it operates management of the environmental and social issues that play a part in the business is a key factor in the group’s strategy 
for success and in the practice of good corporate governance
the group places considerable value on the involvement of its employees and has continued to keep them informed of the various factors 
affecting the performance of the group this is achieved through formal and informal meetings equitybased or similar incentives are 
currently made available to all employees of the group
applications for employment by disabled persons are always fully considered bearing in mind the aptitudes of the applicant concerned 
it is the policy of the group that the training career development and promotion of disabled employees should as far as possible be identical 
to that of other employees the group needs highlyqualified staff and does not see age colour disability ethnic origin gender or political 
or other opinion as a barrier to employment
the group aspires to carry out its business to the highest of ethical standards treating employees suppliers and customers in a professional 
courteous and honest manner the group has an ethical policy which is reviewed by the board and which is applied to its products 
this includes reviewing and where appropriate visiting our suppliers to check the standards they follow in their products and services 27
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
health and safety and environment
abcam provides and maintains a safe and healthy working environment equipment and systems for all employees together with information 
training and supervision as may be needed for this purpose 
compliance with legislation is the group’s minimum requirement however our aim is to achieve higher standards as best practice demands 
the group is committed to an annual audit process by external safety advisors in order to understand and maximise our performance 
demonstrate best practice to all stakeholders and identify areas for targeted improvements core skills are identified and training programmes 
developed to ensure these are in place 
health and safety in the group is ultimately the responsibility of the chief executive officer the management structure for health and safety is run 
by a safety  facilities specialist and is supported through a group steering committee whose membership includes the chief operating officer 
scientific director head of corporate services and representatives from all abcam regional offices the safety structure encompasses 
employees from all areas of the business and promotes ownership of health and safety across its wide remit
a rigorous occupational health scheme is in place and we look to promote a positive and proactive safety culture our reporting system for 
absence promotes the best use of resources and there have being no riddor reportable accidents or instances of ill health over the past year 
abcam seeks wherever possible to minimise its impact on the environment for the benefit of its employees and the public at large the group 
is committed to complying with environmental regulations and encourages and supports its employees in achieving this 
going concern
the group’s business activities together with the factors likely to affect its future development performance and position are set out in 
the chairman’s review the chief executive officer’s review and the financial review on pages 8 to 19 notes 20 23 and 24 include a 
description of the group’s objectives policies and processes for managing its capital its financial risk management objectives details of 
its financial instruments and hedging activities and its exposure to credit risk and liquidity risk
the group has considerable financial resources and through a diverse customer base is subject not only to the western economies but also 
japan china and to a lesser extent south america as a consequence the directors believe that the group is well placed to manage its 
business risks successfully despite the current uncertain global economic outlook
after making enquiries the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future for this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements 
auditors
deloitte llp have expressed their willingness to continue in office as auditors and a resolution to reappoint them will be proposed at the 
forthcoming agm
directors’ statement as to disclosure of information to auditors
in the case of each of the directors of the company at the date on which this report was approved 
•	  as far as each of the directors is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditors are unaware and
•		 	 each of the directors has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken as a director to make himself aware of any relevant audit 
information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information
this confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of section 418 of the companies act 2006
approved by the board and signed on its behalf by
mike redmond
chairman
6 september 2010 28
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
corporate governance statement
although not required to do so by the aim listing rules the directors have chosen to provide selected corporate governance disclosures with 
this report which they consider valuable to the reader
the directors believe that effective corporate governance appropriate to the group considering its size and stage of development will assist in 
the delivery of corporate strategy the generation of shareholder value and the safeguarding of shareholders’ longterm interests the directors 
are committed therefore wherever it is reasonably practicable to ensure that the group is managed in accordance with the principles set out 
in the code
composition of the board
the board comprises the chairman three fulltime executive directors and four nonexecutive directors brief biographical details of all 
members of the board are set out on page 21
in order to assist in securing the recruitment and retention of high calibre nonexecutive directors prior to the flotation of the company in 
2005 the company granted options to nonexecutive directors to acquire shares in the company in addition to fees in the period since 
listing on aim no equitybased incentives have been granted to nonexecutive directors and there are no plans for any such grants in the 
future during the year peter keen exercised all his remaining share options at the end of the year the only nonexecutive director with a 
small number of unexercised share options is tony kouzarides these options are not subject to any performance conditions
the holding of share options by nonexecutive directors could amongst other things be relevant in determining whether a nonexecutive 
director is independent after detailed consideration the board has determined that it does not believe that the exercise or holding of share 
options by these nonexecutive directors impacts on their independence in character and judgement 
the board therefore considers mike redmond tim dye and peter keen to be independent within the meaning of the code tony kouzarides 
is also considered by the board to be independent notwithstanding the fact that he has served on the board for more than nine years since 
he demonstrates a continuous independence in character and judgement in all board matters mark webster is not deemed to be independent 
because he has been employed by the company in an executive capacity during the last five years peter keen has been identified as the 
senior independent director
the roles of chairman and chief executive officer are vested in separate individuals each with clear allocation of accountability and 
responsibility the chairman has prime responsibility for running the board and the chief executive officer has executive responsibilities for 
the company’s strategic development operations and results
the structure of the board and the integrity of each director ensures that there is no one individual or group dominating the decision 
making process
the role of the board
the board holds full meetings every month with attendance required in person one month and via telephone the next month the principal 
matters that it considers are as follows 
•	 monthly management accounts kpis and performance against budget
•	 regular reviews of rd operations and product sourcing
•	 regular reviews of strategic objectives and group priorities
•	 the annual group budget and revised forecasts
•	 reporting including statutory accounts dividend policy dividend payments and the agm
•	 performance of the board and subcommittees
•	 reports of the audit nomination and remuneration committees
•	 an annual review of riskmanagement strategy and controls and a sixmonthly review of the risk register
•	 matters relating to the company’s obligations as an aim listed company 
•	 determination of the remuneration policy for the directors and other senior executives and
•	 management of funds and major capital expenditure including proposals for mergers or acquisitions of other companies or product lines
the board is supplied with information in a timely manner in a form and of a quality appropriate to enable it to discharge its duties 
directors receive appropriate induction on joining the board and regularly update their skills and knowledge
the board has a policy to set out which matters are reserved for the decision of the board and those to which the executive directors need 
not refer for approval this policy also identifies those matters regarding which full delegation to a board committee is not normally permitted 
because a final decision is required to be taken by the whole board 
matters which the board considers are suitable for delegation to a board committee are contained in each committee’s terms of reference 29
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
summary of board meeting attendance in 200910
twelve board meetings were held in 200910 attendance was as follows
          meetings 
          attended
mike redmond          12 12
jonathan milner          12 12
jim warwick          12 12
jeff iliffe          12 12
mark webster          12 12
tony kouzarides          10 12
peter keen          12 12
tim dye          12 12
david cleevely          — 4
figures in brackets denote the maximum number of meetings that could have been attended
board committees
the board has established three committees the audit committee the nomination committee and the remuneration committee
summary of committee membership
        audit  nomination  remuneration 
        committee  committee  committee
mike redmond        yes
1
  yes
1
  yes
1
tim dye        —  chairman  yes
peter keen        chairman  yes  chairman
tony kouzarides        —
2
  yes  —
mark webster        yes
2
  —  —
david cleevely       —
1
 —
1
 —
1
1 david cleevely’s position as a member of each committee was taken by mike redmond when he stepped down from the board on 2 november 2009
2 tony kouzarides stepped down from his position as a member of the audit committee and was replaced by mark webster effective 1 february 2010
summary of committee meeting attendance in 200910
        audit  nomination  remuneration 
        committee  committee  committee
mike redmond        1 1 1 1 1 1
tim dye        — 1 1 2 2
peter keen        2 2 1 1 2 2
tony kouzarides        1 1 1 1 —
mark webster       1 1 — —
david cleevely       1 1 — 1 1
figures in brackets denote the maximum number of meetings that could have been attended
the role of each committee is described in more detail overleaf 30
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
corporate governance statement continued
the audit committee
the committee has responsibility for the following matters 
•  reviewing the accounts and the key judgements and policies underlying them in relation to the interim and annual financial statements 
before they are submitted to the board for final approval
• reviewing management’s reports on internal controls
• reviewing the group’s riskmanagement process including the adequacy of insurance cover
• reviewing the appointment of the external auditors together with the audit fee
•  monitoring the audit and nonaudit work of the external auditors including reviewing any management letters and the company’s response 
and
• reviewing the arrangements by which staff may in confidence raise concerns about possible improprieties
as part of its procedures the committee discusses the interim and annual financial statements with the external auditors when appropriate 
noncommittee members are invited to attend during the period under review the committee has met twice on a formal basis and a number 
of times informally the committee is expected to continue to meet formally twice a year
the nomination committee
the committee is responsible for the following matters
• reviewing the size and composition of the board
• identifying and nominating suitable candidates to fill vacancies on the board and
• reviewing succession planning for both directors and the management team
the process adopted by the committee to identify a candidate for a specific vacancy is in the first instance to determine whether any 
individuals known to the board would be suitable for the role if no candidates can be identified through this process or if the committee 
believes that the process would be improved by the involvement of other candidates then an external search consultancy will be approached 
shortlisted candidates are interviewed by all members of the committee and other executive and nonexecutive directors as the committee 
deems appropriate once a suitable candidate has been identified and references taken the chairman of the committee will recommend to 
the board that the company make a formal offer of employment to the candidate 
there were no new appointments to the board during the year 
all directors are subject to election by shareholders at the first agm after their appointment and to reelection thereafter at intervals of no 
more than three years
the terms of appointment of all nonexecutive directors will be available for inspection at the forthcoming agm in november 2010
the remuneration committee
the committee is responsible for the following matters
• setting the basic pay of executive directors and the remuneration of the chairman
• the operation of the performancerelated bonus plan for the executive directors
• agreeing the allocation and term for the granting of sharebased incentives to executive directors
• determining the executive directors’ pension contributions and
• overseeing the overall annual staff pay review and the operation of the equitybased incentive schemes
the remuneration of the nonexecutive directors is a matter for the chairman and the executive directors
the group has a formal and transparent procedure for developing policy on directors’ remuneration no director is involved in deciding his 
own remuneration
the committee aims to set levels of remuneration for executive directors that are sufficient to attract retain and motivate directors of the 
quality required without paying more than necessary and that are appropriate for the size and complexity of the group it aims to see that 
a significant proportion of each executive director’s remuneration package is performancerelated 31
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
internal control
the board acknowledges its responsibility for safeguarding the shareholders’ investment and the group’s assets in applying this principle the 
board recognises that it has overall responsibility for ensuring that the group maintains an ongoing system of internal control to provide it with 
reasonable assurance regarding effective and efficient operation internal financial control and compliance with laws and regulations this has 
been in place for the year under review and up to the date of approval of the annual report
the audit committee reviews the need for an internal audit function on an annual basis and has concluded that despite the rate of growth 
in recent years the structure of the group and the level of control exercised by the management team an internal audit function continues 
to be neither necessary nor cost effective at this time the directors have reviewed the effectiveness of the internal controls and taken steps 
to ensure that the group has an appropriate control environment for its size and complexity the management team will ensure that the 
internal control environment develops with the size of the company with respect to the identification evaluation and monitoring of risk
arrangements are also in place for all employees to raise concerns about any fraud misconduct or wrongdoing which are formalised into 
a ‘whistleblowing’ policy
such systems which are designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives will provide reasonable 
though not absolute assurance against material loss or misstatement
board performance evaluation
the board undertakes a regular evaluation of its own performance this review involves detailed interviews with each director and the 
company secretary and covers the functioning of the board as a whole and the operation of each of the committees the review confirmed 
the high level of commitment and professionalism exercised by the board in the strategic and commercial leadership of the group it also 
concluded that the board and its individual members continue to perform effectively and operate within a framework of sound governance 
and practices which wherever it is reasonably practicable are consistent with the principles set out in the code
following the appointment of mike redmond as chairman in november 2009 the board has undertaken an evaluation of its own performance 
and during the 2011 financial year it is intended that a further evaluation exercise will be undertaken
the company provides the board with a regular programme of training opportunities including training provided by external advisors in order 
to ensure directors remain appropriately informed of their roles and responsibilities regular updates on corporate governance are also 
provided to the board by the group’s advisors
dialogue with shareholders
the board believes it is important to have open communications with shareholders to this end the chief executive officer and 
chief financial officer working in consultation with the company’s corporate and pr advisors make themselves available and expect to meet 
with shareholders at least twice a year it is the company’s practice to give a presentation on the group’s progress at the agm each year
where appropriate the company also consults with major shareholders on significant issues 32
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
directors’ remuneration report 
although not required by the aim listing rules to provide all the information detailed below the directors have chosen to provide directors’ 
remuneration disclosures in this report which they consider valuable to the reader
unaudited information
the group has a remuneration committee the committee chaired by peter keen which wherever possible follows the principles of the 
recommendations of the code the committee consists of three independent nonexecutive directors including the company chairman
independent consultants have been retained to advise on remuneration policy and to benchmark the executive directors’ remuneration 
against that of a comparator group of companies with similar characteristics to abcam in terms of their size nature of operations historic 
growth achieved and market capitalisation 
their recommendations on salary and bonus arrangements were implemented with effect from 1 july 2009 awards were also made to 
members of the senior management including the executive directors under the company’s longterm incentive plan and other equity 
based incentive schemes as detailed below
remuneration policy
the group’s policy is that a substantial proportion of the remuneration of the executive directors should be performancerelated the four 
main elements of the remuneration package for the executive directors during the year were as follows
• basic annual salary
• a performancebased bonus
• equitybased incentives and
• pension contributions
for future years the committee will ensure that
• it maintains a competitive package of total compensation commensurate with comparable packages available in similar companies and
•  the interests of the executive directors are closely aligned with those of the company’s shareholders through the provision of 
sharebased incentives
where appropriate independent advice will be sought to confirm these objectives are being met
basic salary
the executive directors’ basic salaries are reviewed at least annually by the committee with any revisions normally becoming effective 
on 1 july each year the independent consultants’ report which was commissioned to assist the review ahead of the 201011 financial year 
concluded that the salaries of the executive directors had fallen below those of a comparator group of companies in light of the group’s 
strong performance in recent years the need to maintain competitive packages and after consultation with the company’s major shareholders 
the committee approved salary increases to take effect from 1 july 2010 to the lower quartile level of the comparator group over time and 
when appropriate it is the committee’s intention that base salaries should reflect the median
the recent review resulted in the following amendments to basic salary effective from 1 july
         201011  200910 
         £000  £000
jonathan milner        310 235
jim warwick        232 190
jeff iliffe         220 180
  jonathan milner waived a £25000 increase in salary which would have taken effect on 1 july 2009 and he has waived a further increase of £75000 effective 
1 july 2010 his base salary will therefore remain at £210000 but with effect from 1 july 2010 his bonus arrangements and other benefits will be based on the 
£310000 figure
executive directors’ service contracts which include details of remuneration will be available for inspection at the forthcoming agm in 
november 2010 33
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
unaudited information continued
performancerelated payments
the bonus payable to executive directors is based on the financial performance of the group and the achievement of individual performance 
targets related to the strategic objectives for each individual 
in the year under review the total ‘on target’ bonus for executive directors was set at 375 of basic salary 80 of the on target bonus was 
based on the achievement of a target profit figure and 20 on achievement of individual strategic objectives no payment was due under the 
profitbased bonus if profit was less than 90 of target and the maximum payment was due at 105 of target ordinarily the bonus was 
capped at 75 of basic salary however if the maximum part of the target profit element of the performance bonus was earned then to 
reward exceptional performance the committee could at its discretion award bonuses of up to an additional 25 of salary ie the maximum 
bonus that could be payable was capped at 100 of salary the criteria for the payment of such a bonus include additional revenue growth 
targets and the successful launch of suitable initiatives to sustain the longerterm growth strategy of the business
as stated in the chairman’s review the year has been one of outstanding performance and excellent progress all financial and personal 
performance targets were materially exceeded and the bonus for 200910 became payable in full at 100 of basic salary
for 201011 the remuneration committee has altered the bonus arrangements and 85 of the bonus is based on the achievement of a 
target profit figure and 15 on the achievement of individual strategic objectives the total ‘on target’ bonus will be increased to 525 of 
basic salary but on a more demanding ratchet in that no payment will be made unless 95 200910 90 of target profit has been met 
and the maximum payment is due at 115 200910 105 of target the maximum bonus will be capped at 100 of salary 
under the abcam profit share scheme pss an amount was allocated to all employees of the group excluding executive directors during 
the year on a pointsbased system with the payment being dependent on the level of pretax profit achieved the amount allocated varying 
depending on the level of profitability the pss payment was not capped and payments on account from the pss were made each quarter 
although at no stage did they exceed 85 of the amount due until the audited financial statements were approved amounts paid under the 
scheme are not pensionable
the pss scheme remains in place for the 201011 financial year with revised pretax profit targets and payment levels
equitybased incentives
equitybased incentives are issued to the executive directors on a regular basis in the period since listing on aim no equitybased incentives 
have been granted to nonexecutive directors and there are no plans for any such grants in the future
the abcam plc 2005 plan
the abcam plc 2005 plan the plan was adopted prior to flotation in 2005 and amended in 2008 to make it more tax efficient for usbased 
employees all options granted under the plan since flotation have been based on outperformance of the ftse aim allshare index measured 
on the third anniversary of the date of grant if the target is achieved then options will be exercisable during the next seven years subject to 
the rules of the scheme if the target is not met at the third anniversary then it will be monitored on certain dates over the next twelve months 
if the target is met on any of those dates then the options become exercisable if the target is not met on any of those dates the options will 
lapse on the fourth anniversary
in the year under review no options were granted under the plan to the executive directors
the following graph shows the performance against the ftse aim allshare index for the options issued since flotation which have yet to 
vest and which have not been forfeited subsequently if all the options had crystallised at 26 august 2010 then all performance conditions 
in relation to the options would have been met details of these options are set out in note 30 to the financial statements
03
05
07
09
11
13
15
17
19
21
23
25
27
29
31
33
35
37
39
41
43
index
nov
dec
jan
feb
mar
apr
ma
jun
jul
aug
sep
oct
nov
dec
jan
feb
mar
apr
ma
jun
jul
aug
sep
oct
nov
dec
jan
feb
mar
apr
ma
jun
0 1 0 2 9 0 0 2 8 0 0 2 7 0 0 2
aim allshare index abcam aim allshare index abcam aim allshare index abcam aim allshare index abcam 34
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
directors’ remuneration report continued 
unaudited information continued
equitybased incentives continued
saye scheme
the company has also established a nondiscretionary hmrcapproved saye scheme in which all uk employees including the executive 
directors can participate under this scheme employees contract to save any amount up to a maximum of £250 per month of their posttax 
earnings for a period of either three or five years at the time of entering the contract the company offers the employee the option to acquire 
shares using the money that has been saved over the life of the contract the price at which the shares could be purchased is the market 
value of the shares on the date immediately preceding the offer at a discount of 20 the takeup under the scheme was relatively low when 
the most recent offer was made in 2008 since many employees were already at the allowable investment limits no options were granted 
under the saye scheme in the year under review
longterm incentive plan ltip
the ltip includes performance conditions which comply with guidelines and best practice governing the grant of sharebased incentives in 
a listed company to the extent to which the committee considers such practice to be appropriate to the group the maximum level of award 
being the aggregate market value of shares subject to the award at the date of grant that can be granted to an eligible employee under the 
ltip in any financial year is limited to 150 of that employee’s salary
under the ltip performance share awards made to the executive directors in 200910 took the form of nil cost options and are subject to 
achievement over three years of two separate conditions the first condition applying to 50 of the shares subject to each award and the 
second condition applying to the remaining 50
the total shareholder return tsr condition
in respect of the first 50 of each award the tsr awards the number of shares that will vest will depend on the company’s tsr 
performance as compared to a comparator group of companies the comparator group
• where the company’s tsr is below the 50th percentile none of the tsr awards will vest
• where the company’s tsr is at or above the 70th percentile of the comparator group all of the tsr awards will vest and
•  where the company’s tsr is between the 50th and the 70th percentile the proportion of the tsr awards that will vest will be calculated on 
a straightline basis from 30 at the 50th percentile and rising to 100 at the 70th percentile
the earnings per share eps condition
in respect of the second 50 of each award the eps awards the number of shares that vest will depend on the eps growth of the company 
over the vesting period
• at an average of less than 15 growth per annum equating to 521 growth over the period none of the eps awards will vest
• at average growth per annum of 20 equating to total growth of 728 the eps awards will vest in full and
• at growth rates between these two figures the eps awards will vest proportionately
for a number of senior employees excluding the executive directors awards were made during 200910 with the same performance 
condition as those under the plan ie outperformance of the ftse aim allshare index
the company regularly monitors its performance against these conditions if the awards had crystallised as at 30 june 2010 all performance 
conditions relating to awards in 200809 and 200910 would have been met and therefore all tsr and eps awards would have vested in full
for the ltips to be granted in 201011 a revised comparator group will be prepared and it is proposed that the tsr and eps conditions will 
remain unchanged 200910 has been a very successful year for the group and in order to maintain appropriate incentive to the executive 
directors to continue performance at the highest level it is proposed that the level of award for the executive directors in the coming year be 
between 100 and 120 of basic salary
for the 201011 financial year it is intended that all awards under the ltip will have the same tsr and eps conditions
share incentive plan sip
abcam operates an hmrcapproved sip for all uk employees under the sip awards are made as follows
share awards
annual awards are made to ukbased staff with a market value of up to £3000 each awards take the form of a conditional entitlement to 
shares and will vest after three years’ continuous employment with the company
partnership and matching shares
all ukbased employees are given the opportunity to invest up to £1500 per annum to acquire new shares in the company at market value 
if these shares are held for three years and the employee remains employed by the company during that time then they will also receive an 
additional share for each share acquired
the abcam 2009 company share option plan csop
the group operates an hmrcapproved csop for ukbased employees of the company with a maximum of £30000 of market value options 
granted per employee in 200910 options granted under the csop vest on the same basis and with the same performance conditions as 
those granted under the ltip and it is intended that this will also be the case in 201011 35
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
unaudited information continued
pension arrangements
in the uk all employees including executive directors are invited to participate in the group personal pension plan which is a money 
purchase plan the pensionable element of remuneration in the year under review was basic salary during the year the group contributed 
12 of basic salary excluding the individual performance bonus to a group personal pension plan in the name of each executive director
the company operates a flexible benefits scheme for all ukbased employees including executive directors under which the option 
to sacrifice an element of basic pay and purchase additional pension contributions or other benefits is available as a result of the salary 
sacrificed and used to purchase additional pension contributions the company’s national insurance liability is reduced the benefit of this 
reduction is added as an additional contribution to each employee’s pension fund and for directors this amount is included within the 
employer’s pension contribution figures disclosed in the table of remuneration details below
terms of appointment
the details of directors’ contracts are summarised below
          notice 
          period 
         date of contract months
executive
jonathan milner       10 june 2000  6
jeff iliffe       6 november 2007  6
jim warwick        1 september 2001 6
nonexecutive
peter keen       27 october 2005  1
tony kouzarides       24 july 2007  1
tim dye       26 may 2006  1
mark webster       10 july 2007  1
mike redmond       1 march 2009  1
audited information
remuneration details
        employer’s 
     basic  benefits  performance  pension  total  total 
     salary
1
  in kind  payments  contributions
1
  2010 2009 
     £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
executive
jonathan milner     38 1 210 219 468 417 
jim warwick     80 2 190 145 417 343 
jeff iliffe     82 1 180 131 394 318 
nonexecutive      
mike redmond
2
    63 — — — 63 16 
david cleevely
3
    24 — — — 24 67 
peter keen     44 — — — 44 40 
tony kouzarides     34 — — — 34 32 
tim dye     38 — — — 38 33 
mark webster    31 — — — 31 27 
     434 4 580 495 1513 1293 
1  the directors are remunerated through the company’s flexible benefits scheme under which they can elect to switch basic salary into pension contributions and 
other benefits the basic salary entitlement of each executive director during the year was jonathan milner £210000 jim warwick £190000 and jeff iliffe £180000 
jonathan milner waived a £25000 increase in salary which would have taken effect on 1 july 2009 he has also waived a further increase of £75000 which would have 
been effective from 1 july 2010 and taken his salary up to £310000 for the 201011 financial year his bonus and benefits will be based on the £310000 figure
2 from date of appointment to the board 1 march 2009
3 until date of resignation from the board 2 november 2009 36
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
directors’ remuneration report continued 
audited information continued
remuneration details continued
aggregate emoluments disclosed above do not include any amounts for the value of options to acquire ordinary shares in the company 
granted to or held by the directors details of options exercised during the year are as follows
        market price  gain on  gain on 
       exercise  at exercise  exercise  exercise 
      number of  price  date  2010 2009 
name of director      options  p  p  £  £
jim warwick      22142  2800  12050  204814 
      20000 2800 8700 111419 
      4218 2240 9300 29779 
      46360   346012 138240
jonathan milner      53571  2800 8700 302583 165000 
peter keen     60000 1500 8000 340080 —
david cleevely      — — — — 140000 
      159931   988675 443240 
  a number of the share options exercised were unapproved options under the terms of the scheme rules the employee is liable for payment of the associated employer’s 
national insurance ni charge these gains are therefore shown net of any employer’s ni and represent the taxable gains
share options
details of options and awards over 1p ordinary shares in the company for directors who served during the year are as follows
    number of    number of    
    options    options   date  
    awards    awards  exercise  from  
    at 30 june    at 30 june  price  which  
name of director    2009  granted  exercised  2010 p  exercisable  expiry date
peter keen    60000  — 60000 — 1500  31 jan 06  26 oct 15
tony kouzarides    40000  — — 40000 1250  31 jan 06  29 sep 15
jeff iliffe    89743
1
  — — 89743 3120  8 nov 10  7 nov 17
jonathan milner   53571
1
  — 53571 — 2800  8 sep 09  6 sep 16
    46004
1
 — — 46004 4130  8 may 11  7 may 18
    99575 — 53571 46004   
jim warwick   42142
1
  — 42142 — 2800  8 sep 09  6 sep 16
    4218
2
 — 4218 — 2240  1 nov 09  1 may 10
    41602
1
  — — 41602 3120  8 nov 10  7 nov 17
    87962 — 46360 41602   
    377280 — 159931 217349   
1   these options were granted under the abcam plc 2005 plan and are subject to the performance condition that the share price outperforms the ftse aim allshare index 
at the third anniversary of grant if this is not the case performance will be tested on certain dates over the following twelve months and if the target is not met on any of 
those dates the options will lapse on the fourth anniversary
2  these options were granted under the saye scheme options under this scheme are not subject to performance conditions 37
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
audited information continued
ltip awards
the following table sets out the grants made under the ltip full details of the operation of the ltip including performance conditions are set 
out on page 34 in the unaudited information contained within the directors’ remuneration report
     share      
     price at  value of  percentage  number  number number 
     date of  conditional  of salary  as at awarded as at 
   date of  date of  grant  award  at date  30 june during the 30 june 
executive director   award  release  p  £000  of award  2009 period 2010
jonathan milner   6 nov 08 5 nov 11 4620 210 100 45454 — 45454
   9 nov 09 9 nov 12  9040  248  118  — 27399 27399
        45454 27399 72853
jim warwick   6 nov 08 5 nov 11 4620 175 100 37878 — 37878
   9 nov 09  9 nov 12 9040  224  118  — 24744 24744
        37878 24744 62622
jeff iliffe   6 nov 08 5 nov 11 4620 154 100 33333 — 33333
   9 nov 09  9 nov 12  9040  212  118  — 23416 23416
        33333 23416 56749
total        116665 75559 192224
 part of the value of the ltip awarded was made through the csop but without affecting either the total cost to the company or the overall number of shares granted
there have been no variations to the terms and conditions or performance criteria for the ltip schemes during the financial year 38
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
directors’ remuneration report continued 
audited information continued
sip
the following table sets out the shares purchased and awarded under the sip in respect of the executive directors full details of the 
operation of the sip is set out on page 34 in the unaudited information contained within the directors’ remuneration report
    share price       
    at date of       
    purchase of       
    partnership     matching   
    shares and   free shares  partnership  shares  dividend  
    award of  number conditionally  shares  conditionally  shares  number 
    matching  as at awarded  purchased  awarded  acquired  as at 
  date of  date of  shares  30 june during the  during the  during the  during the  30 june 
executive director  award  release  £  2009 period  period  period  period  2010
jonathan milner  7 nov 08  8 nov 11  4620  649 — — — — 649
  27 nov 08  28 nov 11  4850  618 — — — — 618
  8 dec 08  9 dec 11  4750  6 — — — — 6
  29 apr 09  30 apr 12  6600  5 — — — — 5
  5 nov 09 6 nov 12 9350 — — 160 160 — 320
  9 nov 09 9 nov 09 9040 — 331 — — — 331
  15 dec 09 15 dec 12 9990 — — — — 12 12
  26 apr 10 26 apr 13 12160 — — — — 8 8
total      1278 331 160 160 20 1949
jim warwick  7 nov 08  8 nov 11  4620  649 — — — — 649
  27 nov 08  28 nov 11  4850  618 — — — — 618
  8 dec 08  9 dec 11  4750  6 — — — — 6
  29 apr 09  30 apr 12  6600  5 — — — — 5
  5 nov 09 6 nov 12 9350 — — 160 160 — 320
  9 nov 09 9 nov 09 9040 — 331 — — — 331
  15 dec 09 15 dec 12 9990 — — — — 12 12
  26 apr 10 26 apr 13 12160 — — — — 8 8
total      1278 331 160 160 20 1949
jeff iliffe  7 nov 08  8 nov 11  4620  649 — — — — 649
  27 nov 08  28 nov 11  4850  618 — — — — 618
  8 dec 08  9 dec 11  4750  6 — — — — 6
  29 apr 09  30 apr 12  6600  5 — — — — 5
  5 nov 09 6 nov 12 9350 — — 160 160 — 320
  9 nov 09 9 nov 09 9040 — 331 — — — 331
  15 dec 09 15 dec 12 9990 — — — — 12 12
  26 apr 10 26 apr 13 12160 — — — — 8 8
total      1278 331 160 160 20 1949
the market values of all equitybased incentives awarded to executive directors under the ltip csop and sip in 200910 were equivalent 
to 120 of basic salary 39
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
statement of directors’ responsibilities
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations 
the directors are required to prepare financial statements for the group in accordance with international financial reporting standards as 
adopted by the european union ifrss and have also chosen to prepare financial statements for the parent company in accordance with 
ifrss company law requires the directors to prepare such financial information in accordance with ifrss the companies act 2006 and 
article 4 of the ias regulation 
international accounting standard 1 requires that financial statements present fairly for each financial year the company’s financial position 
financial performance and cash flows this requires the faithful representation of the effects of transactions other events and conditions in 
accordance with the definitions and recognition criteria for assets liabilities income and expenses set out in the international accounting 
standards board’s ‘framework for the preparation and presentation of financial statements’ in virtually all circumstances a fair presentation 
will be achieved by compliance with all applicable ifrss directors are also required to
• properly select and apply accounting policies
•  present information including accounting policies in a manner that provides relevant reliable comparable and understandable 
information and
•  provide additional disclosures when compliance with the specific requirements in ifrss is insufficient to enable users to understand the 
impact of particular transactions other events and conditions on the entity’s financial position and financial performance
the directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial 
position of the company for safeguarding the assets for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other 
irregularities and for the preparation of financial statements which comply with the requirements of the companies act 2006
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the company’s website 
legislation in the uk governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements differs from legislation in other jurisdictions
responsibility statement
we confirm to the best of our knowledge
•  the financial statements prepared in accordance with international financial reporting standards as adopted by the eu give a true and 
fair view of the assets liabilities financial position and profit or loss of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation 
taken as a whole and
•  the report on affairs of the group includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the 
company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole together with a description of the principal risks and 
uncertainties that they face
by order of the board
mike redmond      jeff iliffe
chairman      chief financial officer
6 september 2010      6 september 2010 40
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
independent auditors’ report
to the members of abcam plc
we have audited the financial statements of abcam plc for the year ended 30 june 2010 which comprise the consolidated income statement 
the consolidated and parent company statements of comprehensive income the consolidated and parent company statements of changes 
in equity the consolidated and parent company balance sheets the consolidated and parent company cash flow statements and the 
related notes 1 to 32 the financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and international 
financial reporting standards ifrss as adopted by the european union
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 auditors’ 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 auditors
as explained more fully in the statement of directors’ responsibilities 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 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
an audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that 
the financial statements are free from material misstatement whether caused by fraud or error this includes an assessment of whether the 
accounting policies are appropriate to the group’s and the parent company’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately 
disclosed the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the directors and the overall presentation of the financial statements
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
•  the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and the parent company’s affairs as at 30 june 2010 and of the 
group’s profit for the year then ended
• the financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrss as adopted by the european union 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 3 to the 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 matters 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
other matters
in our opinion the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited has been properly prepared in accordance with the provisions of 
the companies act 2006 that would have applied if the company were listed on a regulated market
although not required to do so the directors have voluntarily chosen to make a corporate governance statement detailing the extent of their 
compliance with the june 2008 combined code we reviewed
• the directors’ statement contained within the report on affairs of the group in relation to going concern and
•  the part of the corporate governance statement relating to the company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the june 2008 combined 
code specified for our review
david halstead senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of deloitte llp
chartered accountants and statutory auditors 
cambridge uk 
6 september 2010 41
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
       year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
      notes  £000  £000
continuing operations
revenue      6  71106 56801 
cost of sales       23689 19420 
gross profit       47417 37381 
administration and management expenses excluding sharebased  
compensation charge and impairment of property plant and equipment      17367 16985 
sharebased compensation charge      30  702 374 
impairment of property plant and equipment     17  — 1074 
total administration and management expenses       18069 18433 
rd expenses excluding sharebased compensation charge       3577 2986 
sharebased compensation charge      30  124 90 
total rd expenses       3701 3076 
operating profit       25647 15872 
investment revenue      11  184 431 
profit before tax       25831 16303 
tax       13 6609 4012 
profit for the year attributable to shareholders      8 28  19222 12291 
earnings per share from continuing operations
basic      15  5382p 3483p 
diluted      15  5255p 3417p 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 june 2010
       year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
       £000  £000
profit for the year      19222 12291
reserve movements on cash flow hedges       677 1296 
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations       61 245 
tax relating to components of other comprehensive income      1689 247 
other comprehensive income for the year      1073 1788 
total comprehensive income for the year       20295 14079 
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 30 june 2010 42
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 june 2010
      sharebased  deferred   
  share share own translation compensation hedging  tax retained total 
  capital premium shares reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 reserve
4
 earnings equity 
  £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
balance as at 1 july 2009 355 11558 301 197 962 933 1368 21396 36468
profit for the year — — — — — — — 19222 19222
exchange differences on translation 
of foreign operations — — — 50 18 — 18 11 61
movements on cash flow hedges — — — — — 677 — — 677
tax relating to components of 
other comprehensive income — — — — — 189 200 1300 1689
total comprehensive income 
for the year — — — 50 18 488 182 20533 20295
issue of share capital 5 1362 418 — — — — — 949
own shares disposed of on 
release of shares — — 29 — — — — 29 —
sharebased compensation charge — — — — 826 — — — 826
payment of dividends — — — — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010 360 12920 690 247 1806 445 1550 36584 53222
      sharebased  deferred   
  share share own translation compensation hedging  tax retained total 
  capital premium shares reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 reserve
4
 earnings equity 
  £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
balance as at 1 july 2008 351 10871 — 33 483 — 758 11692 24122
profit for the year — — — — — — — 12291 12291
exchange differences on 
translation of foreign operations — — — 230 15 — — — 245
movements on cash flow hedges — — — — — 1296 — — 1296
tax relating to components of 
other comprehensive income — — — — — 363 610 — 247
total comprehensive income 
for the year — — — 230 15 933 610 12291 14079
issue of share capital 4 687 316 — — — — — 375
own shares disposed of on 
release of shares — — 15 — — — — 15 —
sharebased compensation charge — — — — 464 — — — 464
payment of dividends — — — — — — — 2572 2572
balance as at 30 june 2009 355 11558 301 197 962   933 1368  21396 36468
1 exchange differences on translation of overseas operations
2 ifrs 2 charge for fair value of share options
3 gains and losses recognised on cash flow hedges
4  portion of deferred tax asset arising on outstanding share options and share options exercised and not taken to profit and loss in accordance with ias 12 in addition the 
current tax deduction arising on exercise of share options in respect of 200809 of £383000 has been reclassified from the deferred tax reserve to retained earnings in 
order to aid better understanding of the financial statements 43
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
consolidated balance sheet
at 30 june 2010
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
      notes  £000  £000
noncurrent assets
intangible assets      16  559 793 
property plant and equipment      17  2895 3541 
deferred tax asset      22  1417 335 
derivative financial instruments      21  127 326 
       4998 4995 
current assets
inventories      19  9073 6796 
trade and other receivables      20  8178 6486 
cash and cash equivalents        17185 25501 
shortterm deposits        23037 — 
derivative financial instruments      21  1040 1338 
       58513 40121 
total assets       63511 45116 
current liabilities   
trade and other payables      23  6866 6694 
current tax liabilities       2698 1871 
derivative financial instruments      21  559 — 
       10123 8565 
net current assets       48390 31556 
noncurrent liabilities
deferred creditor      23  — 83 
derivative financial instruments     21 166 —
       166 83 
total liabilities       10289 8648 
net assets       53222 36468 
equity
share capital      25  360 355 
share premium account      26  12920 11558 
own shares      27  690 301 
translation reserve      28  247 197 
sharebased compensation reserve      28  1806 962 
hedging reserve      28  445 933 
deferred tax reserve      28  1550 1368 
retained earnings      28  36584 21396 
total equity attributable to shareholders       53222 36468 
the financial statements of abcam plc registered number 3509322 were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 
6 september 2010
they were signed on its behalf by
jeff iliffe
director 44
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 30 june 2010
       year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
      note  £000  £000
net cash inflow from operating activities      29  19722 14812 
investing activities
investment income       176 513 
proceeds on disposal of property plant and equipment       60 — 
purchase of property plant and equipment       809 1756 
purchase of intangible assets       66 259 
net cash used in investing activities       639 1502 
financing activities
dividends paid       5316 2572 
proceeds on issue of shares       949 375 
increasedecrease in shortterm deposits       23037 1020 
net cash used in financing activities       27404 1177 
net decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents       8321 12133 
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year       25501 13473 
effect of foreign exchange rates       5 105 
cash and cash equivalents at end of year       17185 25501  45
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
company balance sheet
at 30 june 2010
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
      notes  £000  £000
noncurrent assets
intangible assets      16 556 792 
property plant and equipment      17  2462 3054 
investments      18  203 105 
deferred tax asset      22  986 159 
derivative financial instruments      21  127 326 
       4334 4436 
current assets
inventories      19  9042 6783 
trade and other receivables      20  9572 6579 
cash and cash equivalents        15219 24090 
shortterm deposits        23037 — 
derivative financial instruments      21  1040 1338 
       57910 38790 
total assets       62244 43226 
current liabilities
trade and other payables      23  6066 6193 
current tax liabilities       2536 1784 
derivative financial instruments      21  559 — 
       9161 7977 
net current assets       48749 30813 
noncurrent liabilities
deferred creditor      23  — 83 
derivative financial instruments     21 166 —
       166 83 
total liabilities       9327 8060 
net assets       52917 35166 
equity
share capital      25  360 355 
share premium account      26  12920 11558 
own shares      27  690 301 
sharebased compensation reserve      28  1731 908 
hedging reserve      28  445 933 
deferred tax reserve      28  1315 1196 
retained earnings      28  36836 20517 
total equity attributable to shareholders       52917 35166 
the financial statements of abcam plc registered number 3509322 were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 
6 september 2010
they were signed on its behalf by
jeff iliffe
director 46
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
company cash flow statement
for the year ended 30 june 2010
       year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
      note  £000  £000
net cash inflow from operating activities      29  15892 13535 
investing activities
investment income       172 503 
proceeds on disposal of property plant and equipment       60 — 
purchases of property plant and equipment       722 1349 
purchases of intangible assets       65 258 
dividends received       3196 918 
net cash arising fromused in investing activities       2641 186 
financing activities
dividends paid       5316 2572 
proceeds on issue of shares       949 375 
increasedecrease in shortterm deposits       23037 1020 
net cash used in financing activities       27404 1177
net decreaseincrease in cash and cash equivalents       8871 12172 
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year       24090 11918 
cash and cash equivalents at end of year       15219 24090 
company statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 june 2010
       year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 
       £000  £000
profit for the year       20626 12402 
reserve movements on cash flow hedges       677 1296 
sharebased compensation charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries      98 60 
tax relating to components of other comprehensive income      1346 75 
other comprehensive income for the year      767 1431 
total comprehensive income for the year      21393 13833  47
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
company statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 june 2010
      sharebased  deferred   
   share share own compensation hedging  tax retained total 
   capital premium shares reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 earnings equity 
   £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
balance as at 1 july 2009  355 11558 301 908 933 1196 20517 35166
profit for the year  — — — — — — 20626 20626
sharebased compensation charge 
recognised on behalf of subsidiaries  — — — 98 — — — 98
movements on cash flow hedges  — — — — 677 — — 677
tax relating to components of other 
comprehensive income  — — — — 189 119 1038 1346
total comprehensive income 
for the year  — — — 98 488 119 21664 21393
issue of share capital  5 1362 418 — — — — 949
own shares disposed of on 
exercise of share options  — — 29 — — — 29 —
sharebased compensation charge  — — — 725 — — — 725
payment of dividends  — — — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010  360 12920 690 1731 445 1315 36836 52917
      sharebased  deferred   
   share share own compensation hedging  tax retained total 
   capital premium shares reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 earnings equity 
   £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
balance as at 1 july 2008  351 10871 — 444 — 758 10702 23126
profit for the year  — — — — — — 12402 12402
sharebased compensation charge 
recognised on behalf of subsidiaries   — — — 60 — — — 60
movements on cash flow hedges  — — — — 1296 — — 1296
tax relating to components of other  
comprehensive income  — — — — 363 438 — 75
total comprehensive income  
for the year  — — — 60 933 438 12402 13833
issue of share capital  4 687 316 — — — — 375
own shares disposed of on 
exercise of share options  — — 15 — — — 15 —
sharebased compensation charge  — — — 404 — — — 404
payment of dividends  — — — — — — 2572 2572
balance as at 30 june 2009  355 11558 301 908   933 1196  20517 35166
1 ifrs 2 charge for fair value of share options
2 gains and losses recognised on cash flow hedges
3  portion of deferred tax asset arising on outstanding share options and share options exercised and not taken to profit and loss in accordance with ias 12 in addition the 
current tax deduction arising on exercise of share options in respect of 200809 of £267000 has been reclassified from the deferred tax reserve to retained earnings in 
order to aid better understanding of the financial statements 48
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements
for the year ended 30 june 2010
1 general information
abcam plc the company is incorporated in the uk under the companies act 2006 the address of the registered office is 330 cambridge 
science park milton road cambridge cb4 0fl uk
the group’s activities consist of the development marketing and selling of antibodies and related products the group sells through the 
internet to customers in most countries of the world the group operates through its parent company abcam plc and through its wholly 
owned subsidiaries abcam inc abcam kk and abcam hong kong limited
these financial statements are presented in pounds sterling because that is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the 
group operates foreign operations are included in accordance with the policies set out in note 3
2 adoption of new and revised standards
in the current year the following new and revised standards and interpretations have been adopted and have affected the amounts reported 
in these financial statements
standards affecting presentation and disclosure
ias 1 revised 2007 presentation of financial statements 
ias 1 2007 has introduced a number of changes in the format and content of the financial statements this standard requires the 
presentation of a third balance sheet where changes in accounting policies retrospectively cause a change to the presentation to the primary 
statements abcam has not presented a third balance sheet since there are no material changes to the primary statements as a result of the 
adoption of the new standards listed 
improving disclosures about financial instruments amendments to ifrs 7 financial instruments disclosures
the amendments to ifrs 7 expand the disclosures required in respect of fair value measurements and liquidity risk the group has elected 
not to provide comparative information for these expanded disclosures in the current year in accordance with the transitional reliefs offered in 
these amendments
standards affecting the reported results and financial position
the standards were updated as part of improvements to ifrss 2008 
amendment to ias 38 intangible assets
ias 38 has been amended to state that an entity is permitted to recognise a prepayment asset for advertising or promotional expenditure only 
up to the point at which the entity has the right to access the goods purchased or up to the point of receipt of services mail order catalogues 
have been specifically identified as a form of advertising and promotional activities the group has always accounted for its promotion 
expenditure through the income statement as incurred and there have been no changes made to the accounting policies as a result of 
this new requirement 
amendment to ifrs 2 sharebased payment – vesting conditions and cancellations
the amendments clarify the definition of vesting conditions for the purposes of ifrs 2 introduce the concept of ‘nonvesting’ conditions and 
clarify the accounting treatment for cancellations the amendment has been applied retrospectively in accordance with the relevant 
transitional provisions but has had no impact on the financial statements 
the following new and revised standards and interpretations have been adopted in the current year their adoption has not had any significant 
impact on the amounts reported in these financial statements but may impact the accounting for future transactions and arrangements
ias 23 revised 2007 borrowing costs
the principal change to the standard was to eliminate the option to expense all borrowing costs when incurred this change has had no 
impact on these financial statements because it has always been the group’s accounting policy to capitalise borrowing costs incurred on 
qualifying assets 
amendments to ias 32 financial instruments presentation and ias 1 presentation of financial statements – puttable financial instruments 
and obligations arising on liquidation
the revisions to ias 32 amend the criteria for debtequity classification by permitting certain puttable financial instruments and instruments 
or components of instruments that impose on an entity an obligation to deliver to another party a prorate share of the net assets of the entity 
only on liquidation to be classified as equity subject to specified criteria being met this has had no impact in the current or prior financial year
amendments to ias 39 financial instruments recognition and measurement – eligible hedged items
the amendments provide clarification on two aspects of hedge accounting identifying inflation as a hedged risk or portion and hedging 
with options
ifrs 3 revised 2008 business combinations
the revision introduces several changes which have a significant impact on the accounting for business combinations and the costs 
associated with them 
amendments to ifric 9 and ias 39 embedded derivatives
the amendments serve to clarify that on reclassification of a financial asset out of the ‘at fair value through profit or loss’ category all 
embedded derivatives have to be assessed and if necessary separately accounted for in financial statements 49
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
2 adoption of new and revised standards continued
at the date of authorisation of these financial statements the following standards and interpretations which have not been applied in these 
financial statements were in issue but not yet effective and in some cases had not been adopted by the eu
frs 1 amendedias 27 amended  cost of an investment in a subsidiary jointly controlled entity or associate
ifrs 9  financial instruments
ias 24 revised november 2009   related party disclosures
ias 27 revised 2008  consolidated and separate financial statements
ias 28 revised 2008  investments in associates
ifric 17   distributions of noncash assets to owners
improvements to ifrss april 2009
the directors do not expect that the adoption of these standards and interpretations in future periods will have a material impact on the 
financial statements of the group
3 significant accounting policies
basis of accounting
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with international financial reporting standards ifrss the financial statements 
have also been prepared in accordance with ifrss adopted by the european union and therefore the group financial statements comply with 
article 4 of the eu ias regulation
after making enquiries the directors have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational 
existence for the foreseeable future for this reason they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements
the financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except for the revaluation of certain financial instruments 
the group financial statements are presented in sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds £000 except 
when otherwise indicated the principal accounting policies adopted are set out below
basis of consolidation
the consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the company and entities controlled by the company made 
up to 30 june each year control is achieved where the company has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an investee 
entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities
all intragroup transactions balances income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation 
revenue recognition
revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services 
provided in the normal course of business net of discounts vat and other salesrelated taxes
sales of goods are recognised when goods are despatched and title has passed
sales of goods that result in award credits for customers under the abpoints scheme are accounted for as multiple element revenue 
transactions and the fair value of the consideration received or receivable is allocated between the goods supplied and the award credits 
granted the consideration allocated to the award credits is measured by reference to their fair value – the amount for which the award 
credits could be sold separately such consideration is not recognised as revenue at the time of the initial sale transaction but is deferred 
and recognised as revenue when the award credits are redeemed and the group’s obligations have been fulfilled
interest income is accrued on a time basis by reference to the principal outstanding and the effective interest rate applicable which is the 
rate that exactly discounts estimated future cash receipts through the expected life of the financial asset to that asset’s net carrying amount
dividend income from investments is recognised when the shareholders’ rights to receive payment have been established
revenue derived from the company’s conferences is recognised when the conference is held however it is not material
leasing
leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the 
lessee all other leases are classified as operating leases
rentals payable under operating leases are charged to income on a straightline basis over the term of the relevant lease benefits received 
and receivable as an incentive to enter into an operating lease are also spread on a straightline basis over the lease term
foreign currencies
the individual financial statements of each group company are presented in the currency of the primary economic environment in which it 
operates its functional currency for the purposes of the consolidated financial statements the results and financial position of each group 
company are expressed in sterling which is the functional currency of the company and the presentation currency for the consolidated 
financial statements 50
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
3 significant accounting policies continued
foreign currencies continued
in preparing the financial statements of the individual companies transactions in currencies other than the entity’s functional currency 
foreign currencies are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions at each balance sheet date monetary 
assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated to the rates prevailing at the balance sheet date nonmonetary 
items carried at fair value that are denominated in foreign currencies are translated at the rates prevailing at the date when the fair value was 
determined nonmonetary items that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency are not retranslated
exchange differences are recognised in profit or loss in the period in which they arise except for
•  exchange differences on transactions entered into to hedge certain foreign currency risks see below under financial instrumentshedge 
accounting and
•  exchange differences on monetary items receivable from or payable to a foreign operation for which settlement is neither planned nor likely 
to occur which form part of the net investment in a foreign operation and which are recognised in the foreign currency translation reserve 
and recognised in profit or loss on disposal of the net investment
for the purpose of presenting consolidated financial statements the results of the operations of the company’s overseas subsidiaries abcam inc 
abcam kk and abcam hong kong limited are translated at the monthly average exchange rates during the period and their balance sheets 
at the rates prevailing at the balance sheet date exchange differences arising on the translation of the opening net assets and results of 
operations are classified as equity and recognised in the group’s foreign currency translation reserve
retirement benefit costs
payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due payments made to statemanaged 
retirement benefit schemes are dealt with as payments to defined contribution schemes where the nature of the group’s obligations under the 
schemes is equivalent to those arising in a defined contribution retirement benefit scheme
taxation
the tax expense represents the sum of the tax currently payable and deferred tax
the tax currently payable is based on taxable profit for the year taxable profit differs from net profit as reported in the income statement 
because it excludes some items of income or expense that are taxable or deductible in other years and it further excludes items that are never 
taxable or deductible the group’s liability for current tax is calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the 
balance sheet date
deferred tax is the tax expected to be payable or recoverable on differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities in the 
financial statements and the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the balance sheet 
liability method deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred tax assets are recognised to 
the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which deductible temporary differences can be utilised such assets 
and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary difference arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or from the initial recognition of other 
assets and liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the taxable profit nor the accounting profit
deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries and associates and interests 
in joint ventures except where the group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the temporary 
difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future
the carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and reduced to the extent that it is no longer probable that 
sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered
deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the asset is realised deferred 
tax is charged or credited in the income statement except where it relates to items charged or credited directly to equity in which case the 
deferred tax is also dealt with in equity
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against current tax liabilities 
and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the group intends to settle its current tax assets and liabilities 
on a net basis
property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and any recognised impairment loss
depreciation is charged so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets over their estimated useful lives using the straightline method on the 
following bases
office equipment fixtures and fittings  20 per annum
laboratory equipment 20 per annum
computer equipment  33 per annum
hybridomas  33 per annum
the gain or loss arising on the disposal or retirement of an asset is determined as the difference between the sales proceeds and the carrying 
amount of the asset and is recognised in income 51
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
3 significant accounting policies continued
intangible assets
expenditure on research activities is recognised as an expense in the period in which it is incurred
expenditure on development activities is recognised as an asset if and only if it meets the recognition criteria set out in ias 38 – intangible assets
payments made to acquire software and distribution rights from third parties are capitalised at cost and amortised on a straightline basis over 
their estimated minimum useful lives the minimum useful life is determined to be three years in the case of software and the term of the 
deal in the case of distribution rights which can extend up to ten years
impairment of tangible and intangible assets
at each balance sheet date the group reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any 
indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss if such indication exists the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in 
order to determine the extent of the impairment loss if any an intangible asset with an indefinite useful life is tested for impairment annually 
and whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired
recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use in assessing value in use the estimated future cash flows 
are discounted to their present value using a pretax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and 
the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted
if the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its 
recoverable amount an impairment loss is recognised as an expense immediately
investments
investments in subsidiaries are stated at cost less where appropriate provisions for impairment
inventories
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value cost comprises direct materials and where applicable direct labour costs 
and an attributable portion of production overheads that have been incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition 
cost is calculated using the standard cost method net realisable value represents the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of 
completion and costs to be incurred in marketing selling and distribution provision is made for obsolete slow moving or defective items 
where appropriate
financial instruments
financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised on the group’s balance sheet when the group becomes a party to the contractual 
provisions of the instrument
trade and other receivables
trade receivables are measured at initial recognition at fair value appropriate allowances for estimated irrecoverable amounts are recognised 
in the income statement when there is objective evidence that the asset is impaired when a trade receivable is considered uncollectable it is 
written off against the allowance account subsequent recoveries of amounts previously written off are credited against the allowance account 
changes in the carrying amount of the allowance account are recognised in the income statement
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and demand deposits and other shortterm highly liquid investments that are readily 
convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value
financial liabilities and equity
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 group after deducting all of its liabilities the accounting 
policies adopted for specific financial liabilities and equity instruments are set out below
trade payables
trade payables are measured at amortised cost
equity instruments
equity instruments issued by the company are recorded at the proceeds received net of direct issue costs
derivative financial instruments
forward contracts are used by the group to manage its exposure to the risk associated with the variability in cash flows in relation to both 
recognised assets or liabilities and forecast transactions
derivatives are initially recognised at fair value at the date a derivative contract is entered into and are subsequently remeasured to their 
fair value at each balance sheet date a derivative with a positive fair value is recognised as a financial asset whereas a derivative with a negative 
fair value is recognised as a financial liability the resulting gain or loss is recognised in the income statement immediately unless the derivative 
is designated and effective as a hedging instrument in which event the timing of the recognition in the income statement depends on the 
nature of the hedge relationship
a derivative is presented as a noncurrent asset or noncurrent liability if the remaining maturity of the instrument is more than twelve months 
and it is not expected to be realised or settled within twelve months other derivatives are presented as current assets or current liabilities 52
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
3 significant accounting policies continued
hedge accounting
the group designates certain derivatives as either hedges of highly probable forecast transactions or hedges of foreign currency risk of firm 
commitments cash flow hedges
at the inception of the hedge relationship the group documents the relationship between the hedging instrument and the hedged item along 
with its risk management objectives and its strategy for undertaking various hedge transactions furthermore at the inception of the hedge 
and on an ongoing basis the group documents whether the hedging instrument that is used in a hedging relationship is effective in offsetting 
changes in fair values or cash flows of the hedged item
cash flow hedges
the effective portion of changes in the fair value of derivatives that are designated and qualify as cash flow hedges are deferred in equity 
the gain or loss relating to the ineffective portion is recognised immediately in profit or loss and is included in the ‘administration and 
management expenses’ line of the income statement
amounts deferred in equity are recycled in the income statement in the periods when the hedged item is recognised in profit or loss in the 
same line of the income statement as the recognised hedged item
hedge accounting is discontinued when the group revokes the hedging relationship the hedging instrument expires or is sold terminated 
or exercised or no longer qualifies for hedge accounting any cumulative gain or loss deferred in equity at that time remains in equity and is 
recognised when the forecast transaction is ultimately recognised in profit or loss when a forecast transaction is no longer expected to occur 
the cumulative gain or loss that was deferred in equity is recognised immediately in profit or loss
sharebased payments
the group has applied the requirements of ifrs 2 sharebased payment in accordance with ifrs 1 ifrs 2 has been applied to all grants 
of equity instruments after 7 november 2002 that were unvested at 1 july 2006
incentives in the form of shares are provided to employees under share option share purchase sip and longterm incentive plans ltip 
equitysettled sharebased payments are measured at fair value excluding the effect of non marketbased vesting conditions at the date of 
grant the fair value determined at the grant date of the equitysettled sharebased payments is expensed on a straightline basis over the 
vesting period based on the group’s estimate of the number of shares that will eventually vest
fair value of options issued under the group’s share option schemes is measured by the use of the monte carlo simulation
fair value of the awards under the group’s ltip is measured by the use of the monte carlo simulation for the tsr portion and the binomial 
model for the eps portion
fair value of an equitysettled payment under the sip is measured as the face value of the award on the date of grant
the expected life used in the model has been adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects of nontransferability 
exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations charges made to the income statement in respect of sharebased payments are 
credited to retained earnings
the group operates an employee benefit trust as part of its incentive plans for employees all assets and liabilities of the trust are recorded 
in the balance sheet as assets and liabilities of the company until such time as the assets are awarded to the beneficiaries all income and 
expenditure of the trust is similarly brought into the results of the company
own shares
own equity instruments which are acquired are recognised at cost and deducted from equity no gain or loss is recognised in the income 
statement on the purchase sale issue or cancellation of the group’s own equity instruments any difference between the carrying amount 
and the consideration is recognised in reserves
4 critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
in the application of the group’s accounting policies which are described in note 3 the directors are required to make judgements estimates 
and assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities as at the date of reporting the financial statements and the reported 
amounts of revenues and expenditure during the year in preparation of the consolidated financial statements estimates and assumptions 
have been made by the directors concerning the fair value of share options the estimated useful lives of fixed assets accruals and provisions 
required the carrying value of investments the recoverability of deferred tax assets the carrying value of intangible assets and other similar 
evaluations actual amounts may differ from those estimates
the estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period 
in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects 
both current and future periods
key sources of estimation uncertainty
the key assumptions concerning the future and other sources of estimation uncertainty at the balance sheet date that have a significant risk 
of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year are discussed below
impairment of intangibles
after reviewing the circumstances surrounding its remaining product line acquisition deals during the year it was considered that the carrying 
value of certain of these intangible assets was no longer supportable due to a concern over the security of supply of products subject to those 
agreements an impairment loss of £147000 2009 £201000 has been recognised to take account of the recoverable amount of the contracts 53
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
4 critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty continued
fair value of derivatives and other financial instruments
as described in note 24 the directors use their judgement in selecting an appropriate valuation technique for financial instruments not 
quoted in an active market valuation techniques commonly used by market practitioners are applied for derivative financial instruments 
assumptions are made based on quoted market rates adjusted for specific features of the instrument other financial instruments are valued 
using a discounted cash flow analysis based on assumptions supported where possible by observable market prices or rates
valuation of own manufactured inventory
the standard costs used for the valuation of own manufactured inventory require a number of assumptions concerning the allocation of 
overheads these assumptions are based primarily on management’s estimates of time spent in each relevant area of activity and normal 
levels of activity
provision for slow moving or defective inventory
the provision for slow moving or defective inventory is based on management’s estimation of the commercial life and shelf life of inventory 
lines and is applied on a prudent basis in assessing this management takes into consideration the sales history of products and the length 
of time that they have been available for resale
5 income statement for the company
as permitted by section 408 of the companies act 2006 the company has elected not to present its own income statement for the year 
abcam plc reported a profit for the year ended 30 june 2010 of £20626000 2009 £12402000
6 revenue
an analysis of the group’s revenue all of which derives from continuing operations is as follows
         year ended year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010  2009 
        note  £000  £000
sales of goods         71106 56801 
investment revenue        11  184 431 
         71290 57232 
7 operating segments
products and services from which reportable segments derive their revenues
the directors consider that there are no identifiable business segments that are engaged in providing individual products or services or a 
group of related products and services that are subject to risks and returns that are different to the core business the information reported 
to the group’s chief executive officer who is considered the chief operating decision maker for the purposes of resource allocation and 
assessment of performance is based wholly on the overall activities of the group the group has therefore determined that it has only one 
reportable segment under ifrs 8 which is ‘sales of antibodies and related products’ the group’s revenue and results and assets for this 
one reportable segment can be determined by reference to the group’s income statement and balance sheet
the group has no individual product or customer which comprises more than 10 of its revenues
geographical information
the group’s revenue from external customers and information about its noncurrent segment assets excluding deferred tax by geographical 
location are detailed below
       revenue  noncurrent assets
       year ended year ended as at  as at 
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
us        29762 24535  370 435 
japan       6771 4634  52 52 
germany       5664 4719  — — 
uk country of domicile       5632 4883  3144 4173 
other countries       23277 18030  15 — 
       71106 56801  3581 4660 
revenues are attributed to countries on the basis of the customer’s location no country included within ‘other countries’ contributes more 
than 5 of the group’s total revenue 54
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
8 profit for the year
profit for the year has been arrived at after chargingcrediting
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
        notes  £000  £000
foreign exchange differences arising on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss    545 565 
other net foreign exchange gainslosses        983 646
rd expenditure        3701 3076 
operating lease rentals – land and buildings        12  838 822 
depreciation of property plant and equipment       17  1352 1417 
impairment loss on property plant and equipment       17  — 1074 
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment        32 160 
amortisation of intangible assets included within administration and management expenses    16  180 261 
impairment loss on intangible assets included within administration and management expenses   16  147 201 
cost of inventories recognised as an expense         22491 18870 
writedown of inventories recognised as an expense        1198 550 
staff costs        10  12437 10148 
impairment gain recognised on trade receivables       20  48 84 
auditors’ remuneration        9  143 153 
9 auditors’ remuneration
a detailed analysis of the auditors’ remuneration on a worldwide basis is provided below
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
fees payable to the company’s auditors for the audit of the company’s annual accounts     50 47 
fees payable to the company’s auditors for other services to the group
– the audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation       22 13 
total audit fees         72 60 
– other services pursuant to legislation        15 15
– tax services         19 24 
– other services relating to treasury advice         — 3 
– other services
1
        37 51
total nonaudit fees         71 93 
total auditors’ remuneration         143 153 
1  other services relates to training provided by the cambridge network ltd and its subsidiaries disclosed due to the audit partner also being a director of the cambridge 
network ltd
10 staff costs
the average monthly number of employees including executive directors was
       group  company
       year ended  year ended  year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       number  number  number  number
management administrative marketing and distribution      204 170  131 111 
laboratory       49 44  49 44 
       253 214  180 155  55
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
10 staff costs continued
their aggregate remuneration comprised
       group  company
       year ended  year ended  year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
wages and salaries       9701 8054  6930 5722 
social security costs       861 683  505 418 
pension costs       1049 947  953 867 
charge in respect of share options granted       826 464  725 404 
       12437 10148  9113 7411 
11 investment revenue
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
interest revenue on cash and shortterm deposits        184 431 
12 operating lease arrangements
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
minimum lease payments under operating leases recognised as an expense in the year
land and buildings         838 822 
at the balance sheet date the group and company had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under noncancellable 
operating leases all of which relate to land and buildings which fall due as follows
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
within one year       1178 834  712 438 
in the second to fifth years inclusive       2519 2552  1446 2158 
       3697 3386  2158 2596 
the above table reflects the committed cash payments under operating leases rather than the expected charge to the income statement 
in the relevant periods the effect on the income statement will differ to the above figures to the extent of the amortisation of a £11m lease 
incentive received on signing of a new lease in 200809 and also the amortisation of the rentfree period included in the same lease agreement 
the expected charge in 201011 on these operating leases is expected to be £859000 for the group and £350000 for the company
13 tax
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
current tax         6919 4539 
deferred tax note 22         310 527 
         6609 4012 
corporation tax is calculated at 28 2009 28 of the estimated assessable profit for the year taxation for other jurisdictions is calculated 
at the rates prevailing in the respective jurisdictions
the finance act 2010 which provides for a reduction in the main rate of corporation tax from 28 to 27 effective from 1 april 2011 was 
substantively enacted on 21 july 2010 as it was not substantively enacted at the balance sheet date the rate reduction is not yet reflected 
in these financial statements in accordance with ias 10 as it is a nonadjusting event occurring after the reporting period
the impact of the rate reduction which will be reflected in the next reporting period is estimated to reduce the uk deferred tax asset 
provided at 30 june 2010 by £35000 56
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
13 tax continued
the government has also indicated that it intends to enact future reductions in the main tax rate of 1 each year down to 24 by 1 april 2014
the future 1 main tax rate reductions are expected to have a similar impact on the financial statements as outlined above however the 
actual impact will be dependent on our deferred tax position at that time
the charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit per the income statement as follows
       year ended  year ended  year ended  year ended 
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2010 2009 2009 
       £000    £000  
profit before tax       25831  16303 
tax at the uk corporation tax rate of 28 2009 28      7233 280 4565  280 
effect of different tax rates of subsidiaries operating in different jurisdictions    253 10 175  10 
tax effect of expenses that are not deductible in determining taxable profit    12 00 48  03 
rd tax credit uplift       918 35 771  47 
prior year adjustments       29 01 5  00 
tax expense and effective rate for the year       6609 256 4012  246 
14 dividends
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010  2009 
         £000  £000
amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year
final dividend for the year ended 30 june 2009 of 940p 2008 456p per share     3369 1612 
interim dividend for the year ended 30 june 2010 of 542p 2009 271p per share     1947 960 
total distributions to equity holders in the period        5316 2572 
proposed final dividend for the year ended 30 june 2010 of 1461p 2009 940p per share     5252 3339 
the proposed final dividend is subject to approval of the shareholders at the agm and has not been included as a liability in these 
financial statements
15 earnings per share
the calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data
         year ended  year ended 
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
earnings
earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted earnings per share being  
net profit attributable to equity holders of the parent company      19222 12291 
number of shares
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of  
basic earnings per share         35713587 35287943 
effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares 
– share options         861797 679385 
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of  
diluted earnings per share        36575384 35967328 
basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of 
shares outstanding during the year diluted earnings per share is calculated on the same basis as basic earnings per share but with a further 
adjustment for the weighted average shares in issue to reflect the effect of all dilutive potential ordinary shares the number of dilutive potential 
ordinary shares is derived from the number of share options granted to employees where the exercise price is less than the average market 
price of the company’s ordinary shares during the year 57
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
16 intangible assets
group
       upfront  distribution   
       licence fees  rights  software  total 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
cost 
at 1 july 2008       164  1393  —  1557
additions       99  —  162  261
disposals       1  —  —  1
at 1 july 2009       262  1393  162  1817
additions       60 — 33 93
at 30 june 2010       322 1393 195 1910
amortisation and impairment
at 1 july 2008       120  443  —  563
charge for the year       61  157  43  261
impairment loss       —  201  —  201
disposals       1  —  —  1
at 1 july 2009       180  801  43  1024
charge for the year       47 77 56 180
impairment loss       — 147 — 147
at 30 june 2010       227 1025 99 1351
carrying amount    
at 30 june 2009       82  592  119  793
at 30 june 2010       95 368 96 559
company
       upfront  distribution   
       licence fees  rights  software  total 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
cost
at 1 july 2008       164  1393  —  1557
additions       99  —  161  260
disposals       1  —  —  1
at 1 july 2009       262  1393  161  1816
additions       60 — 31 91
at 30 june 2010      322 1393 192 1907
amortisation and impairment
at 1 july 2008       120  443  —  563
charge for the year       61  157  43  261
impairment loss       —  201  —  201
disposals       1  —  —  1
at 1 july 2009       180  801  43  1024
charge for the year       47 77 56 180
impairment loss       — 147 — 147
at 30 june 2010       227 1025 99 1351
carrying amount
at 30 june 2009       82  592  118  792
at 30 june 2010      95 368 93 556 58
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
16 intangible assets continued
the amortisation period for the upfront licence fees and software is three years the amortisation period for the distribution rights is the term 
of the agreement after reviewing the circumstances surrounding the remaining product line acquisition deals it was considered that the 
carrying value of certain of these intangible assets was no longer supportable due to a concern over the security of supply of products subject 
to those agreements an impairment loss of £147000 2009 £201000 has been recognised in the year to take account of the recoverable 
amount of the contracts
17 property plant and equipment
group
        office 
        equipment 
      computer  laboratory  fixtures   
      equipment  equipment  and fittings  hybridomas  total 
      £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
cost
at 1 july 2008      588  4679  1111  22  6400
additions      193  653  1025  66  1937
exchange differences      30  53  48  —  131
disposals      68  1  780  35  884
at 1 july 2009      743  5384  1404  53  7584
additions      252 321 150 35 758
exchange differences      24 33 63 — 120
disposals      — 140 — — 140
at 30 june 2010     1019 5598 1617 88 8322
accumulated depreciation and impairment 
at 1 july 2008      345  1046  802  3  2196
charge for the year      165  1032  200  20  1417
impairment loss      63  988  9  14  1074
exchange differences      17  23  40  —  80
eliminated on disposals      63  1  654  6  724
at 1 july 2009      527  3088  397  31  4043
charge for the year      178 899 261 14 1352
exchange differences      19 24 37 — 80
eliminated on disposals      — 48 — — 48
at 30 june 2010     724 3963 695 45 5427
carrying amount
at 30 june 2009      216  2296  1007  22  3541
at 30 june 2010      295 1635 922 43 2895 59
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
17 property plant and equipment continued
company
        office   
        equipment   
      computer  laboratory  fixtures   
      equipment  equipment  and fittings  hybridomas  total 
      £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
cost
at 1 july 2008      461  4427  904  22  5814
additions      138  630  693  66  1527
disposals      57  1  780  35  873
at 1 july 2009      542  5056  817  53  6468
additions      208 297 111 35 651
disposals      — 140 — — 140
at 30 june 2010      750 5213 928 88 6979
accumulated depreciation and impairment
at 1 july 2008      272  943  620  3  1838
charge for the year      119  967  118  20  1224
impairment loss      62  986  7  14  1069
eliminated on disposals      56  1  654  6  717
at 1 july 2009      397  2895  91  31  3414
charge for the year      128 834 175 14 1151
eliminated on disposals      — 48 — — 48
at 30 june 2010      525 3681 266 45 4517
carrying amount     
at 30 june 2009     145  2161  726  22  3054
at 30 june 2010      225 1532 662 43 2462
as a result of the decision in the prior year to refocus the monoclonal manufacturing resource towards more targeted lower level production 
an impairment loss of £11m was recognised in that year relating to tangible assets associated with the higher volume production processes 
which will not now be implemented no further impairments of property plant and equipment were necessary during the current year
18 investments
the company’s subsidiaries at 30 june 2010 and 2009 are
         proportion  proportion 
        country of  of shares  of voting 
        incorporation  held  power held
abcam inc        us  100  100
abcam kk        japan  100  100
abcam hong kong limited       hong kong 100 100
abcam employee share benefit trust limited       uk 100 100
camgene limited       uk  100  100
abcam inc abcam kk and abcam hong kong limited are involved in the sale and distribution of antibodies and related products 
the abcam employee benefit trust limited holds in trust the shares purchased on behalf of employees participating in the share incentive 
plan camgene limited is dormant 
analysis of changes in investments
          £000
at 1 july 2008         45
additions         60
at 1 july 2009          105
additions          98
at 30 june 2010         203 60
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
18 investments continued
investments are held at cost less provision for impairment all additions represent sharebased payment charges for share options issued by 
the company to employees of the subsidiaries
19 inventories
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
goods for resale       9073 6796  9042 6783 
20 financial assets
trade and other receivables
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
amounts receivable for the sale of goods       7074 5685  2873 2614 
allowance for doubtful debts       297 305  107 115 
       6777 5380  2766 2499 
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings       — —  5826 3332 
other debtors       665 516  391 277 
prepayments       736 590  589 471 
       8178 6486  9572 6579 
trade receivables
the average credit period taken for sales is 326 days 2009 320 days no interest has been charged on the receivables trade receivables 
are provided for based on estimated irrecoverable amounts determined by reference to past default experience the group and company 
have provided fully for all receivables over 90 days past due because historical experience is such that receivables that are past due beyond 
90 days are generally not recoverable trade receivables between 30 days and 90 days are provided for based on estimated irrecoverable 
amounts from the sale of goods determined by reference to past default experience
credit limits for each customer are reviewed on a monthly basis no customer represents more than 5 of the total balance of trade receivables
the analysis below shows the balances included in debtors which are past due at the reporting date for which the group or company has not 
provided as there has not been a significant change in credit quality and the amounts are still considered recoverable neither the group nor 
company holds any collateral or other credit enhancements over these balances nor do they have a legal right of offset against any amounts 
owed to the counterparty 
ageing of past due but not impaired receivables
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010  2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
0 to 30 days overdue       1366 938  589 434 
30 to 60 days overdue       133 90  — — 
       1499 1028  589 434
movement in the allowance for doubtful debts
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
balance at the beginning of the year       305 591  115 413 
impairment gains recognised through income statement      48 84  14 17 
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations      16 39  — — 
amounts written off as uncollectable       19 241  9 281 
amounts recovered during the year      43 — 15 —
balance at the end of the year       297 305  107 115  61
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
20 financial assets continued
trade receivables continued
movement in the allowance for doubtful debts continued
in determining the recoverability of a trade receivable the group and company consider any change in the credit quality of the receivable from 
the date credit was initially granted up to the reporting date the concentration of credit risk is limited due to the customer base being large 
and unrelated accordingly the directors believe that there is no further credit provision required in excess of the allowance for doubtful debts
an impairment loss was recognised in the year ended 30 june 2008 relating to certain customers in financial difficulties the difference 
between the carrying amount of these trade receivables and the present value of the expected litigation proceeds was written off as 
uncollectable within the year ended 30 june 2009 no such individually impaired trade receivables relating to customers in financial 
difficulties have been identified in the current year 
ageing of impaired receivables
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
0 to 30 days overdue       44 99  2 16 
30 to 60 days overdue       163 155  71 81 
60 to 90 days overdue       42 35  13 18 
more than 90 days overdue       48 16  21 —
       297 305  107 115 
the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value
21 derivative financial instruments
group and company 30 june 2010
      current  noncurrent
      asset liability asset liability total 
      £000 £000 £000 £000  £000 
derivatives that are designated and effective as hedging  
instruments carried at fair value
forward exchange contracts      859 201 127 166 619
derivatives carried at fair value through profit and loss fvtpl
forward exchange contracts that are not designated in hedge  
accounting relationships      181 358 — — 177
      1040 559 127 166 442 
group and company 30 june 2009
      current  noncurrent
      asset liability asset liability total 
      £000 £000 £000 £000  £000 
derivatives that are designated and effective as hedging instruments  
carried at fair value
forward exchange contracts      970 — 326 — 1296
derivatives carried at fair value through profit and loss fvtpl
forward exchange contracts that are not designated in hedge  
accounting relationships      368 — — — 368
      1338 — 326 — 1664
further details of derivative financial instruments are provided in note 24 62
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
22 deferred tax
the following are the major deferred tax liabilities and assets recognised by the group and company and movements thereon during the 
current and prior reporting period
group
      accelerated  cash  other  
      tax  flow  sharebased  timing  
      depreciation  hedges  payment  differences  total 
      £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
at 30 june 2008      881  —  622  181  78
creditcharge to income      481  —  135  89  527
chargecredit to equity      1  363  222  28  114
at 30 june 2009      401  363  979  120  335
creditcharge to income      161 — 243 94 310
chargecredit to equity      3 189 569 17 772
at 30 june 2010     243 174 1791 43 1417
company
      accelerated  cash   other  
      tax  flow  sharebased  timing  
      depreciation  hedges  payment  differences  total 
      £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
at 30 june 2008      887  —  600  109  178
creditcharge to income      534  —  113  119  528
chargecredit to equity      —  363  172  —  191
at 30 june 2009      353  363  885  10  159
creditcharge to income      134 — 204 86 252
credit to equity      — 189 386 — 575
at 30 june 2010      219 174 1475 96 986
at the balance sheet date there are no aggregate temporary differences associated with undistributed earnings of subsidiaries for which a 
deferred tax liability has not been recognised 2009 £1210000 no liability was recognised in the prior year in respect of these differences 
because the group was in a position to control the timing of the reversal of temporary differences and it was probable that such differences 
would not reverse in the foreseeable future no temporary differences exist in the current year as a result of a change to the uk tax legislation 
which largely exempts dividends from uk tax if received on or after 1 july 2009 the directors believe that all dividends to be paid by the 
company’s subsidiaries will meet the criteria for exemption from uk tax 
23 other financial liabilities
trade and other payables
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
amounts falling due within one year
trade payables       2555 1703  2278 1502 
amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings       — —  306 218 
accruals and deferred income       3870 4603  3192 4128 
deferred creditor       48 57  48 57 
other taxes and social security       257 241  240 226 
other creditors       136 90  2 62 
       6866 6694  6066 6193 
amounts falling due after more than one year 
deferred creditor       — 83  — 83 
       6866 6777  6066 6276  63
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
23 other financial liabilities continued
trade creditors and accruals principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs at 30 june 2010 the group had 
an average of 29 days of purchases 2009 19 days outstanding in trade creditors excluding accruals and deferred income most suppliers do 
not charge interest for the first 60 days of the invoice the group has financial risk management policies in place to ensure that all payables are 
paid within the credit time frame the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other payables approximates to their fair value
the deferred creditor represents the earnout payable on sales of products under a distribution agreement
24 financial instruments
capital risk management
the group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the group will be able to continue as going concerns whilst maximising the return 
to stakeholders the capital structure of the group consists of cash and cash equivalents and equity attributable to the equity holders of the 
parent comprising issued capital reserves and retained earnings
significant accounting policies
details of the significant accounting policies and methods adopted including the criteria for recognition the basis of measurement and the 
basis on which income and expenses are recognised in respect of each class of financial asset financial liability and equity instrument are 
disclosed in note 3 foreign exchange contracts are measured using quoted forward exchange rates and the yield curves derived from quoted 
interest rates matching maturities of these contracts
categories of financial instruments
       group  company 
       carrying value  carrying value
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
financial assets
loans and receivables
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings       — —  5826 3332 
trade receivables       6777 5380  2766 2499 
vat recoverable included in other debtors       534 290  387 224 
       7311 5670  8979 6055 
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents and shortterm deposits      40222 25501  38256 24090 
loans and receivables including cash and cash equivalents     47533 31171  47235 30145 
financial liabilities
other financial liabilities at amortised cost
trade and other payables      2948 2034  2826 2008 
current tax liabilities       2698 1871  2536 1784 
amortised cost       5646 3905  5362 3792 
 financial liabilities at amortised cost within trade and other payables consist of trade payables intercompany payables other taxes and other payables
the directors consider there to be no material difference between the book value and the fair value of the group’s financial assets and 
liabilities at the balance sheet date this is because most of the financial assets and liabilities are short term
fair value measurements recognised in the statement of financial position
financial instruments that are measured subsequent to initial recognition at fair value have been classified using a fair value hierarchy that 
reflects the significance of the inputs used in measuring the fair value of those instruments the fair value hierarchy has the following levels
• level 1 fair value measurements are those derived from quoted prices unadjusted in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
•  level 2 fair value measurements are those derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are observable for 
the asset or liability either directly ie as prices or indirectly ie derived from prices and
•  level 3 fair value measurements are those derived from valuation techniques that include inputs for the asset or liability that are not based 
on observable market data unobservable market inputs
the group’s derivatives meet the definition of level 2 as outlined above there were no transfers between level 1 and 2 during the year
risk in relation to the use of financial instruments
credit risk
credit risk refers to the risk that a counterparty will default on its contractual obligations resulting in financial loss to the group or the 
company trade receivables consist of a large number of customers spread across diverse geographical areas the group does not have 
a significant credit risk exposure to any single counterparty ongoing credit evaluation is performed on the financial condition of accounts 
receivable and consideration is given as to whether there is any impairment in the value of any amounts owing 64
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
24 financial instruments continued
risk in relation to the use of financial instruments continued
credit risk continued
the standard payment terms for receivables other than intragroup balances are 30 days any variation in these terms requires authorisation 
by senior management yearend debtor days are 326 days 2009 320 days all overdue debts are provided for where collectability is 
considered doubtful or the value of the debt is impaired objective evidence of impairment could include the group’s past experience of 
collecting payments an increase in the number of delayed payments in the portfolio past the average credit period of 326 days as well as 
observable changes in international or local economic conditions
the standard payment terms for intragroup receivables are 45 days there is not considered to be any risk of impairment of these receivables 
unless the financial assets of the entity holding the corresponding liability are impaired 
the credit risk on liquid funds and derivative financial instruments is limited because the counterparties are banks with high creditratings 
assigned by international creditrating agencies funds are split between at least two institutions
market risk
the group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates the group 
enters into forward exchange contracts to hedge the exchange rate risk arising on the sales of goods and services denominated in us dollars 
euros and japanese yen
foreign currency risk management
the group undertakes certain transactions denominated in foreign currencies the group’s policy is to maintain natural hedges where 
possible by matching foreign currency revenue and expenditure exchange rate exposures are managed within approved policy parameters 
utilising forward exchange contracts
the carrying amounts of the group’s foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities at the reporting date not denominated in 
the local functional currency are as follows
       liabilities  assets
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
euros       202 211  1944 1882 
us dollars       1144 1459  5593 3447 
japanese yen      30 39  1279 490 
hong kong dollars      — — 55 —
       1376 1709  8871 5819 
foreign currency sensitivity analysis
the group’s principal functional currency is sterling the group is mainly exposed to us dollars and euros but has an increasing exposure to 
japanese yen since opening an office in hong kong the group is also now exposed to hong kong dollars at the current time this exposure 
is not considered material and hence is not included in the analysis below 
the following table details the group’s sensitivity to an 8 increase and decrease in the sterling exchange rate against the relevant foreign 
currencies on the group’s profit before tax and equity 8 represents management’s assessment of the reasonably possible change in foreign 
exchange rates the sensitivity analysis includes only outstanding foreign currency denominated monetary items and forward exchange 
contracts and adjusts their translation at the period end for an 8 change in foreign currency rates a positive number indicates an 
increase in profit or equity
     yen currency impact  euro currency impact  us dollar currency impact
     2010 2009 2010 2009 2010 2009 
     £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
effect of an 8 strengthening in relevant exchange rate on
profit or loss     — —  — 94  237 68 
other equity     385 176  1051 1163  594 907 
effect of an 8 weakening in relevant exchange rate on 
profit or loss     — —  1 111  279 80 
other equity     453 167  1234 1365  697 1064 
in management’s opinion the sensitivity analysis is unrepresentative of the inherent foreign exchange risk as the yearend exposure does not 
necessarily reflect the exposure during the year 
forward exchange contracts
it is the policy of the group to enter into forward exchange contracts to manage the risk associated with anticipated sales transactions out to 
15 months within 30 to 80 of the exposure generated upon maturity of a forward exchange contract the group may enter into a new 
contract designated as a separate hedging relationship
foreign currency forward contracts are measured using quoted forward exchange rates and the yield curves derived from quoted interest 
rates matching maturities of the contracts 65
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
24 financial instruments continued
forward exchange contracts continued
the following table details the forward exchange contracts outstanding as at the year end
        foreign  contract  fair 
       average  currency  value  value 
       rate  30 june 30 june 30 june 
       30 june 2010  2010 2010 
outstanding contracts       2010 000  £000  £000
sell us dollars
less than 3 months       151 4650 3079 28
3 to 6 months       152 4935 3250 48
7 to 12 months       152 10125 6665 101
13 to 15 months       153 3740 2444 56
       152 23450 15438 233
sell euros
less than 3 months       114 €4200 3692 247
3 to 6 months       114 €3475 3046 194
7 to 12 months       114 €7900 6954 462
13 to 15 months       118 €3825 3242 96
       115 €19400 16934 999
sell yen
less than 3 months       15630 ¥75000 480 86
3 to 6 months       13752 ¥170376 1239 50
7 to 12 months       13719 ¥360652 2629 108
13 to 15 months       13724 ¥244476 1781 80
       13877 ¥850504 6129 324
total of outstanding forward contracts         38501 442
        foreign  contract  fair 
       average  currency  value  value 
       rate  30 june 30 june 30 june 
       30 june 2009  2009  2009  
outstanding contracts       2009  000  £000  £000
sell us dollars
less than 3 months       149  2600  1749  168
3 to 6 months       149  5300  3558  333
7 to 12 months       150  8000  5324  451
13 to 15 months       151  4200  2781  220
       150  20100  13412  1172
sell euros
less than 3 months       114  €2200  1932  58
3 to 6 months       114  €4200  3687  107
7 to 12 months       114  €7800  6862  209
13 to 15 months       114  €4200  3692  104
       114  €18400  16173  478
sell yen
less than 3 months       15747  ¥50000  318  2
3 to 6 months       15728  ¥100000  636  4
7 to 12 months       15684  ¥150000  956  6
13 to 15 months       15630  ¥75000  480  2
       15693  ¥375000  2390  14
total of outstanding forward contracts         31975  1664 66
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
24 financial instruments continued
forward exchange contracts continued
at 30 june 2010 the fair value of contracts held as cash flow hedges is £619000 2009 £1296000 the remaining contracts are not held 
as cash flow hedges 
liquidity risk management
ultimate responsibility for liquidity risk management rests with the board of directors which has built an appropriate liquidity risk management 
framework for the management of the group’s short medium and longterm funding and liquidity management requirements
the group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate reserves and banking facilities continuously monitoring cash flows and matching 
the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities
the group and company hold cash deposits at call or with a maturity of up to twelve months at 30 june 2010 the average maturity of 
balances was 146 days 2009 47 days of fixed rate deposits not sensitive to changes in interest rates sufficient funds are readily available to 
the company to meet operational requirements
trade payables are normally payable within 30 days of invoice and the standard payment terms for intragroup receivables are 45 days
liquidity and interest risk tables – financial liabilities
all balances are capital and do not include accrued interest
      weighted     
      average     
      interest  on demand  1 to 3  3 months  
      rate  1 month  months  to 1 year  total 
        £000  £000  £000  £000
group
2010 
trade payables      —  2535  14  6  2555 
accruals and deferred income      —  2982  266  622  3870 
       5517  280  628  6425 
company
2010
trade payables      —  2264 10 4 2278
accruals and deferred income      —  2680  179 333 3192
       4944  189 337 5470
      weighted     
      average     
      interest  on demand  1 to 3  3 months  
      rate  1 month  months  to 1 year  total 
        £000  £000  £000  £000
group
2009
trade payables      —  1604  82  17  1703
accruals and deferred income      —  3725  196  682  4603
       5329  278  699  6306
company
2009 
trade payables      —  1403  82  17  1502
accruals and deferred income      —  3367  133  628  4128
       4770  215  645  5630
interest rate risk sensitivity analysis
an increase of 1 in the average interest rate during the year would have resulted in an increase in interest received by the group of 
£443000 2009 £376000 and by the company of £423000 2009 £369000 a decrease of 1 in the average interest rate during the 
year would have resulted in a reduction in interest received by the group of £184000 2009 £136000 and by the company of £179000 
2009 £113000 there would have been no effect on equity reserves
the closing cash and shortterm deposits balance at the year end has been used as the basis for the calculations a 1 increase or decrease 
in interest rates represents management’s assessment of the reasonably possible change in interest rates 67
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
25 share capital
group and company
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
authorised
100000000 ordinary shares of 1p each         1000 1000 
issued and fully paid
35950642 2009 35525450 ordinary shares of 1p each       360 355 
the movement during the year on the company’s issued and fully paid shares was as follows
        2010 2010 2009 
        number  £000  £000
balance at beginning of year       35525450 355 351 
issue of share capital        425192 5 4 
balance at end of year       35950642 360 355 
the company has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income
during the year the company issued 1p ordinary shares as follows
         exercise total 
        number  price  paid 
date issued       of shares  £  £
july 2009       1400 462 6468
july 2009       5210 312 16255
august 2009       320 280 896
august 2009       270 312 842
september 2009       6320 0125 790
september 2009       920 025 230
september 2009       4200 0625 2625
september 2009       60000 150 90000
september 2009       4016 224 8996
september 2009       145416 280 407165
september 2009       18689 3202 59846
october 2009       19867 280 55628
october 2009       1914 3225 6172
november 2009       39562 224 88619
november 2009       272 249 677
november 2009       3329 280 9321
november 2009       2830 312 8830
november 2009       650 462 3003
november 2009       3304 3204 10585
december 2009       44526 935 416318
december 2009       187 9195 1719
march 2010       1560 0625 975
march 2010       43172 280 120882
march 2010       4000 3474 13895
april 2010       820 025 205
april 2010       11667 280 32668
may 2010       771 3464 2671
        425192  1366281
 new shares issued and held by the employee benefit trust to satisfy the company’s obligations under the free shares and matching shares elements of the sip
further details of the company’s share option schemes are provided in note 30 68
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
26 share premium
group and company
          £000
balance at 1 july 2008          10871
premium arising on issue of equity shares          687
balance at 1 july 2009          11558
premium arising on issue of equity shares          1362
balance at 30 june 2010          12920
there were no costs of issue incurred during the year or the previous year
27 own shares
group and company
          £000
balance at 1 july 2009         301
acquired in the period          418
disposed of on exercise of options          29
balance at 30 june 2010         690
this balance represents the cost of 107458 shares in abcam plc 2009 65094 which were issued by the company at market value and 
held by the abcam employee share benefit trust these shares are held in order to satisfy the free shares and matching shares elements of 
the various sharebased compensation plans see note 30 for further details of these schemes
28 retained earnings and other reserves
group
      sharebased     
     translation  compensation  hedging  deferred tax  retained  
     reserve
1
  reserve
2
  reserve
3
  reserve
4
  earnings  total 
     £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
balance as at 1 july 2008     33  483  —  758  11692  12900
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations    230  15  —  —  —  245
sharebased compensation charge     —  464  —  —  —  464
deferred tax liabilityasset recognised     —  —  363  610  —  247
profit for the year     —  —  —  —  12291  12291
own shares disposed of on exercise of options    —  —  —  —  15  15
increase in fair value of hedging derivatives     —  —  1296  —  —  1296
payment of dividends note 14     —  —  —  —  2572  2572
balance as at 1 july 2009     197  962  933  1368  21396  24856
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations    50 18 — 18 11 61
sharebased compensation charge     — 826 — — — 826
deferred tax asset recognised     — — 189 583 — 772
current tax deduction for exercise of share options
5
    — — — 383 1300 917
profit for the year     — — — — 19222 19222
own shares disposed of on exercise of options    — — — — 29 29
decrease in fair value of hedging derivatives     — — 677 — — 677
payment of dividends note 14     — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010    247 1806 445 1550 36584 40632
1  exchange differences on translation of overseas operations
2  ifrs 2 charge for fair value of share options
3  gains and losses recognised on cash flow hedges and associated deferred tax assets and liabilities created
4  portion of deferred tax asset arising on outstanding share options and share options exercised and not taken to profit and loss in accordance with ias 12
5  the current tax deduction arising on exercise of share options in respect of 200809 of £383000 has been reclassified from the deferred tax reserve to retained earnings 
in order to aid better understanding of the financial statements  69
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
28 retained earnings and other reserves continued
company
      sharebased     
      compensation  hedging  deferred tax  retained  
      reserve
1
  reserve
2
  reserve
3
 earnings  total 
      £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
balance as at 1 july 2008      444  —  758  10702  11904
sharebased compensation charge      404  —  —  —  404
sharebased compensation charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries   60  —  —  —  60
deferred tax liabilityasset recognised      —  363  438  —  75
profit for the year      —  —  —  12402  12402
own shares disposed of on exercise of options     —  —  —  15  15
increase in fair value of hedging derivatives      —  1296  —  —  1296
payment of dividends note 14      —  —  —  2572  2572
balance as at 1 july 2009      908  933  1196  20517  23554
sharebased compensation charge      725 —  — — 725
sharebased compensation charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries   98 —  — — 98
deferred tax asset recognised      —  189 386 — 575
current tax deduction for exercise of share options
 4 
    — — 267 1038 771
profit for the year      —  —  — 20626 20626
own shares disposed of on exercise of options     —  —  — 29 29
decrease in fair value of hedging derivatives      —  677 — — 677
payment of dividends note 14      —  — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010     1731 445 1315 36836 40327
1  ifrs 2 charge for fair value of share options
2  gains and losses recognised on cash flow hedges and associated deferred tax assets and liabilities created
3  portion of deferred tax asset arising on outstanding share options and share options exercised and not taken to profit and loss in accordance with ias 12
4  the current tax deduction arising on exercise of share options in respect of 200809 of £267000 has been reclassified from the deferred tax reserve to retained earnings 
in order to aid better understanding of the financial statements
29 note to the cash flow statement
       group  company
       30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
       2010 2009 2010 2009 
       £000  £000  £000  £000
operating profit for the year       25647 15872  22805 14514 
adjustments for
depreciation of property plant and equipment      1352 1417  1152 1224 
impairment losses on property plant and equipment      —  1074  — 1069 
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment      32 160  32 156 
amortisation of intangible assets       180 261  180 261 
impairment losses on intangible assets       147 201  147 201 
decrease in provisions       19 16  19 16 
change in fair value of derivatives outstanding at year end     545 565  545 565 
sharebased compensation charge       826 464  725 404 
operating cash flows before movements in working capital      28710 18868  25567 17248 
increase in inventories       2277 2289  2259 2282 
increase in receivables       1692 1263  2987 1393 
increasedecrease in payables       191 2198  146 2160 
cash generated by operations       24932 17514  20175 15733 
income taxes paid       5210 2702  4283 2198 
net cash inflow from operating activities       19722 14812  15892 13535 
  this increase in payables includes £10m of the total balance of £11m received as an incentive from the landlord of premises leased by abcam plc with effect from december 2008 70
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
30 sharebased payments
equitysettled share option scheme
the company operates a number of share option schemes for certain employees of the group the sharebased compensation charge relates 
to option awards from the emi plan unapproved share option plan the us employees share option plan the abcam 2005 share option 
scheme the saye scheme the abcam company share option plan csop the longterm incentive plan ltip and the share incentive 
plan sip option grants under each scheme have been aggregated
the vesting period for grants under the saye scheme is either three years or five years as selected by the employee at the date of grant 
those options with performance criteria vest when the criteria are met the vesting period for all other options is from one to three years if the 
options remain unexercised after a period of ten years from the date of grant the options expire options are forfeited if the employee leaves 
the group before the options vest
the volatility of the options is based on the longterm average volatility in the share price of five quoted companies that are considered to have 
a reasonable comparability with abcam plc the dividend yield is based on abcam’s actual dividend yield in the past
the risk free rate is the yield on uk government gilts at each date of grant the employee exercise multiple is based on published statistics for a 
portfolio of companies the employee exit rate is based on management’s expectations and in accordance with ifrs 2 is applied after vesting
the group recorded a total sharebased expense of £826000 in the year 2009 £464000 of which £702000 2009 £374000 was 
included within administration and management expenses and £124000 2009 £90000 was included within rd expenses
summary of all schemes excluding sip and ltip
options outstanding as at 30 june 2010 had an exercise price of between 25p and 904p 2009 125p and 462p the weighted average 
remaining contractual life is 735 years 2009 746 years the weighted average fair value of the options outstanding at the end of the year 
was 12059p 2009 6556p the group recorded total sharebased expenses of £279000 2009 £272000 relating to all schemes 
excluding the sip and ltip
       2010  2009
          weighted 
        weighted   average 
        average  number of exercise 
       number of  exercise  share price 
       share  price  options as restated 
       options  p  as restated p
outstanding at beginning of year       1138202 29886 1389012  21999 
granted during year       141775 90400 181021  46200 
forfeited during year       35596 43204 41636  35539 
exercised during year       380479 25124 390195  9765 
outstanding at the end of year       863902 41553 1138202  29886 
exercisable at end of year       133094 18252 150080  10916 
 the 2009 comparatives have been restated to correct the treatment of 5300 saye share options which were erroneously disclosed as forfeited during the year
enterprise management incentive emi scheme
       2010  2009
        weighted   weighted 
        average   average 
       number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
       share  price  share  price 
       options  p  options  p
outstanding at beginning of year       515548 27278 833528  20694 
forfeited during year       12050 31200 27274  29869 
exercised during year       219330 26577 290706  8120 
outstanding at the end of year       284168 27652 515548  27278 
exercisable at end of year       72450 16610 50080  4759 
the growth in the net assets of the group means that the group has exceeded the limits set by hmrc for the tax incentives available under 
the emi scheme so no further grants can be made under this scheme 71
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
30 sharebased payments continued
unapproved share option plan
       2010  2009
        weighted   weighted 
        average   average 
       number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
       share  price  share  price 
       options  p  options  p
outstanding at beginning of year       268512 26026 354909  22366 
exercised during year       86571 18990 86397  10991 
outstanding at the end of year       181941 26626 268512  26026 
exercisable at end of year       40000 12500 100000  14000 
further grants of unapproved options are now being made under the abcam 2005 share option scheme
abcam inc share scheme
       2010  2009
        weighted   weighted 
        average   average 
       number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
       share  price  share  price 
       options  p  options  p
outstanding at beginning of year       117791 31515 121712  29147 
forfeited during year       1989 32889 3921  59365 
exercised during year       28678 35158 —  — 
outstanding at the end of year       87124 32138 117791  31515 
exercisable at end of year       20644 35158 —  — 
further grants of options to abcam’s us employees are now being made under the abcam 2005 share option scheme
saye scheme
       2010  2009
          weighted 
        weighted  average 
         average number of  exercise 
       number of exercise share price 
       share  price options as restated 
       options p  as restated p
outstanding at beginning of year       72306 23156 78863  23111 
forfeited during year       3855 24900 2165  23064 
exercised during year       43850 22416 4392  22400 
outstanding at the end of year       24601 24202 72306  23156 
exercisable at end of year       — — —  — 
 the 2009 comparatives have been restated to correct the treatment of 5300 share options which were erroneously disclosed as forfeited during the year
the abcam 2005 share option scheme
       2010  2009
        weighted   weighted 
        average   average 
       number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
       share  price  share  price 
       options  p  options  p
outstanding at beginning of year       164045 46200 —  —
granted during year       63475 90400 181021  46200
forfeited during year       15547 51825 8276  46200
exercised during year       2050 46200 8700  46200
outstanding at the end of year       209923 59149 164045  46200
exercisable at end of year       —  — —  — 72
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
30 sharebased payments continued
the abcam csop
         2010
          weighted 
          average 
         number of  exercise 
         share  price 
         options  p
outstanding at beginning of year         —  —
granted during year         78300 90400
forfeited during year         2155 90400
outstanding at the end of year         76145 90400
exercisable at end of year          —  —
fair value calculation
the fair value of the option schemes other than those options with marketbased performance criteria has been calculated using the 
trinomial method the inputs into the trinomial model are as follows
emi scheme
     16 june 16 june 5 july 17 december 27 may 5 september 
grant date     2003  2003  2004  2004  2005  2005
share price at grant pence     10  10  25  30  625  625
fair value at valuation date pence     26  26  85  123  192  191
exercise price pence     25  375  25  25  625  625
expected volatility     40  40  35  35  30  30
expected life years     3  308  2  288  2 2
expected dividend yield     11  11  11  11  11  11
risk free rate     397  397  508  449  431  415
employee exercise multiple     2  2  2  2  2  2
employee exit rate     1000  1000  1000  1000  1000  1000
unapproved scheme
      20 december 20 december 30 september 30 september 27 october 
grant date      2004  2004  2005  2005  2005
share price at grant pence      30  30  625  625  167
fair value at valuation date pence      112  116  189  102  5577
exercise price pence      25  25  625  125  150
expected volatility      35  35  30  30  30
expected life years      154  2  182  182  1635
expected dividend yield      11  11  11  11  11
risk free rate      446  446  429  429  440
employee exercise multiple      2  2  2  2  2
employee exit rate      1000  1000  1000  1000  1000
saye scheme
       2 october 2 october 8 november 8 november 
grant date       2006  2006  2007  2007 
share price at grant pence       280  280  312  312
fair value at valuation date pence       104  113  106  122
exercise price pence       224  224  249  249
expected volatility       30  30  30  30
expected life years       3  5  3  5
expected dividend yield       11  11  15  15
risk free rate       454  454  480  480
employee exercise multiple       2  2  2  2
employee exit rate       1000  1000  1200  1200 73
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
30 sharebased payments continued
saye scheme continued
the fair value of options issued after september 2006 with marketbased performance criteria are calculated using the monte carlo model 
the inputs into the monte carlo model are as follows
      7 september 8 november 7 may 6 november 9 november  
grant date      2006  2007  2008  2008 2009
share price at grant pence      280  312  413  4625 904
fair value at valuation date pence      84  89  123  115 288
exercise price pence      280  312  413  462 904
expected volatility      30  30  30  24 34
expected life years      3  301  3  3 6
expected dividend yield      11  15  15  087 124
risk free rate      457  480  479  390 321
employee exercise multiple      2  2  2  2 2
employee exit rate      953  1200  1200  000 000
share incentive plan sip
all ukbased employees are eligible to participate in the sip whereby employees buy shares in the company these shares are called 
partnership shares and are held in trust on behalf of the employee for every partnership share bought by the employee the company will 
give the employee one share free of charge matching shares provided the employee remains employed by the company for a period of 
at least three years the employees must take their shares out of the plan on leaving the company and will not be entitled to the matching 
shares if they leave within three years of buying the partnership shares in addition the company can also award employees the right to 
acquire up to a maximum of £3000 of shares free shares there are no vesting conditions attached to the free shares other than 
being continuously employed by the company for three years from the date of grant
       number of  number of 
       free shares  matching shares
       2010  2009 2010 2009
outstanding at beginning of year       54184 — 9873  —
granted during year       37267 59410 8929  10271
forfeited during year       5914 2244 1005 —
released during year       1934 2982 415  398
outstanding at the end of year       83603 54184 17382  9873
exercisable at end of year       —  — —  —
for the purposes of ifrs 2 the fair value of these matching shares and free shares is determined as the market value of the shares at the 
date of grant no valuation model is required to calculate the fair value of awards under the sip the fair value of an equitybased payment 
under the sip is the face value of the award on the date of grant because the participants are entitled to receive the full value of the shares 
and there are no marketbased performance conditions attached to the awards
the group recognised a total expense of £195000 2009 £68000 related to matching and free share awards in the year
longterm incentive plan ltip
the company approved a new ltip in 2008 vesting of performance share awards made under this scheme to the executive management team is 
conditional upon achievement of two separate performance conditions full details of these performance conditions are shown in the directors’ 
remuneration report in 2010 ltip awards were made to members of senior management in addition to the executive management team vesting 
of awards made to senior management are based on marketbased performance criteria only and are calculated using the monte carlo model
all awards made under this scheme have a fixed term of three years save as permitted in the ltip rules awards lapse on an employee 
leaving the company
details of performance share awards outstanding during the year are as follows
         ltip awards ltip awards 
         2010 2009
outstanding at beginning of year         154545 —
granted during year         104252 154545
forfeited during year        1778 —
outstanding at the end of the year        257019 154545
exercisable at end of year         — —
these performance share awards were made on 9 november 2009 2009 6 november and 17 november 2008 the aggregate of the fair 
values of the awards made on that date is £756000 2009 £573000  74
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2010
30 sharebased payments continued
longterm incentive plan ltip continued
the estimated fair values of the awards made to the executive management team were calculated using the monte carlo model the inputs to 
the model for awards granted in the year were as follows
        9 november 6 and 17 november 
grant date        2009 2008
weighted average exercise price pence        —  —
expected volatility        34  24
expected life        3 years  3 years
expected dividend yield        124  087
risk free rate        203  341
the estimated fair values of awards made to senior management were calculated using the monte carlo model the inputs to the model for 
awards granted in the year were as follows
          9 november 
grant date          2009
weighted average exercise price pence          —
expected volatility          34
expected life          4 years
expected dividend yield          124
risk free rate          252
the group recognised a total expense of £352000 2009 £124000 related to performance share awards under the ltip in the year
31 retirement benefit schemes
defined contribution schemes
the ukbased employees of the company have the option to be members of a defined contribution pension scheme managed by a third party 
pension provider for each employee who is a member of the scheme the company will contribute a fixed percentage of each employee’s 
salary to the scheme the only obligation of the group with respect to this scheme is to make the specified contributions
the employees of the group’s subsidiaries in the us japan and hong kong are members of statemanaged retirement benefit schemes 
operated by the governments of the us japan and hong kong respectively the subsidiaries are required to contribute a specified 
percentage of payroll costs to the retirement benefit schemes to fund the benefits the only obligation of the group with respect to the 
retirement benefit schemes is to make the specified contributions
the total cost charged to the income statement in respect of these schemes during the year ended 30 june 2010 was £1049000 2009 £947000 
as at 30 june 2010 contributions of £80000 2009 £75000 due in respect of the current reporting period had not been paid over to the schemes 75
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
32 related party transactions
remuneration of key personnel
the remuneration of the executive directors who are the key management personnel of the group is set out below in aggregate for each of 
the categories specified in ias 24 – related party disclosures further information about the remuneration of individual directors is provided 
in the audited part of the directors’ remuneration report 
group and company
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
shortterm employee benefits and fees         1279 1078 
sharebased compensation charge         276 153 
         1555 1231 
directors’ transactions
under a new product development agreement with a laboratory associated with tony kouzarides a nonexecutive director of the company 
abcam provided products from its catalogue free of charge with a resale value of £23732 2009 £24018 and paid £44762 in royalties 
2009 £41166 £7780 relating to these royalties was outstanding at the year end 2009 £5889
dividends totalling £1024657 were paid in the year in respect of ordinary shares held by the company’s executive and nonexecutive directors 
company transactions with its subsidiaries
the company provided goods for resale to received dividends from and was charged management fees by its subsidiaries in the current and 
prior year as summarised in the following table
         30 june 30 june 
         2010 2009 
         £000  £000
sales of goods         32526 24444
dividends received        3196 918
management fees charged        782 569
         34940 24793
amounts remaining outstanding at the year end can be seen in the company balance sheet on page 45 76
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
we are building a great company by recruiting excellent people 
with more than 270 employees across our 5 offices
our staff help us to 
build a great company annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
contents  
of this report
review of the year 
ifc highlights of our year
 01 corporate statement 
 02 what we offer 
 04 who we support 
 06 how we operate 
 08 chairman’s review 
 10 chief executive officer’s review 
 16 financial review 
corporate governance
 20 board of directors 
 22 corporate directory
 23 report on affairs of the group 
 28 corporate governance statement 
 32 directors’ remuneration report 
 39 statement of directors’ responsibilities 
financial statements
 40 independent auditors’ report 
 41 consolidated income statement 
   consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income 
 42  consolidated statement of changes 
in equity 
 43 consolidated balance sheet 
 44 consolidated cash flow statement
 45 company balance sheet
 46 company cash flow statement 
   company statement of comprehensive 
income 
 47 company statement of changes in equity 
 48  notes to the consolidated 
financial statements
 76 our staff
this year we’ve taken our financial 
reporting online
we recognise the importance of 
providing clear and timely 
information to our existing and 
potential shareholders and hope 
that this new interactive format will 
enable you to more easily access 
the information contained herein
abcamplccomreports
highlights of our year
see our full financial results on page 41
profit before tax £m
06 07 08 09 10
258
50
55
80
163
number of new products
06 07 08 09 10
63010
23200
33900
44028
52400
revenue £m
06 07 08 09 10
711
194
245
366
568
earnings per share p
06 07 08 09 10
5382
1117
1174
1688
3483
  revenue increased by 252 to £711m 
2009 £568m and by 231 on a 
constant currency basis
  pretax profits increased by 584 to £258m 
2009 £163m after a nonrecurring fixed asset 
impairment related charge of £11m 
  product range grew by 202 to 63010 antibodies 
and related products 2009 52400
  new offices opened in hong kong and san francisco 
to improve service levels in regional markets 
  record volumes of characterisation data added on 
the products in the catalogue during the year
  net cash and shortterm deposits at 30 june 2010 
of £402m 2009 £255m
  earnings per share increased by 545 to 5382p 
per share 2009 3483p
  recommended final dividend increased by 554 
to 1461p per share 2009 940p giving an 
increase in the total dividend per share of 654 
to 2003p 2009 1211p 
access  
this report  
online
friendly
relaxed
 open fun
dynamic 
flexible
professional
progressive
ambitious
 the most popular terms abcam staff use to describe abcam – source abcam staff survey 2010 abcam plc
330 cambridge science park 
cambridge cb4 0fl 
uk
email corporateabcamcom 
phone 44 01223 696000 
fax 44 01223 771600
wwwabcamplccom
much more 
than antibodies
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
100
abcam plc is committed to achieving good environmental practice and this is reflected in this annual report 
which has been printed on cocoon silk 100 this stock is comprised of 100 post consumer waste which is 
independently certified in accordance with the rules of the forest stewardship council and produced at mills 
with iso 14001 environmental management systems 


Summary:
 10
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review
i am delighted to report on another successful year for abcam 
with sales at £711m and strong growth of 252 231 on 
a constant currency basis we continued to attract many new 
customers and gain market share through a combination of 
continually adding high quality products to our catalogue 
increasing validation of our existing products with a rigorous 
focus on data gathering and presentation and providing high 
levels of customer service and support
we also continue to invest to drive longerterm growth but thanks 
to tight cost control and the operational gearing in the business 
profit before tax increased by 584 to £258m 2009 £163m 
after a £11m charge associated with the restructuring at the 
production facility
market review
sales in north america grew by 201 to 502m £318m 
2009 418m £262m representing 447 of our total sales 
for the year we have continued to extend our commitment to 
improving service levels in the year particularly on the west coast 
where we have opened a small office in san francisco to increase 
access to customer support in the region and to promote abcam 
in the local market our programme of targeting other areas 
which we believe have high potential for sales growth has also 
contributed to this increase which is a pleasing result in a 
highly competitive market 
we have improved our service offering in europe during the year 
local language support is now available for extended periods 
each day to allow better access for researchers to our customer 
support teams and we are now able to offer sameday receipt 
and despatch of orders to more customers across europe 
emphasising knowledge 
training and experience
we are building a great company by recruiting 
excellent people our company culture is one that 
empowers individuals with responsibility given at an 
early stage we are able to attract and retain the best 
calibre employees by creating a challenging yet fun 
environment where everyone is working together 
for success
corporate culture
“ i am delighted to report on another successful year for abcam with 
sales at £711m and strong growth of 252”
jonathan milner chief executive officer
this year team leaders from 
across the organisation took 
part in a management framework 
programme ensuring excellent 
people management throughout 
the business 
we have an open plan environment 
that encourages communication 
between departments ideas and 
problems are shared for the 
best outcome  11
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
in addition we have been successful in appointing nonexclusive 
distributors within certain european countries to enable us to sell 
to organisations not otherwise accessible to us sales to europe 
grew by 205 to €227m £200m 2009 €189m £163m 
representing 282 of our total sales for the year
we also had a successful year in the uk which is our most 
highly penetrated market and where we have a market leadership 
position sales grew by 153 to £56m 2009 £49m representing 
79 of our total sales for the year the growth rate in the second 
half of the financial year was slightly higher than in the first half 
but the funding pressures we saw in the first half are still a feature 
of the market
we continued the development of relationships with our network 
of subdealers in japan who have handled all our sales since 
january 2009 working with them enables us to get closer to 
our customers than was previously the case and to build on the 
feedback we receive to better identify and fulfil our customers’ 
requirements sales in japan grew by 397 to ¥983m £68m 
2009 ¥704m £46m representing 95 of our total sales 
for the year
we opened our sales and marketing office in hong kong in july 2009 
initially to drive sales in china and hong kong but with the longerterm 
aim of taking on the management of our distributor network in 
south east asia it has been a very busy year for the team as they 
have been recruiting staff appointing distributors in china and 
improving our delivery capability into china through the selection 
of a local company to handle the importation of our products 
“the supply chain team specialises 
in the management of our stock pipeline we work 
with a variety of departments ensuring customers 
get the products they want quickly a key 
achievement during the final quarter of the 
year has been fulfilling over 78 of orders 
directly from stock”
above our inhouse manufacturing laboratory specialises in purification 
techniques a vital step in isolating single proteins of interest 
laura 
supply chain and 
customs operations
we undertake regular staff surveys to gather feedback 
and ensure everyone has a voice see what staff said 
about abcam on the inside back cover
inhouse  
testing 12
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review continued
market review continued
we expect it will take several years to develop our position in 
the chinese market to its full potential but we have made good 
progress in the year as sales to hong kong and china grew by 
622 to hk343m £28m 2009 hk211m £17m or 
39 of total sales
sales to the rest of the world which is predominantly the 
remainder of south east asia and is mostly served through local 
distributors increased by 298 to 65m £41m 2009 50m 
£31m representing 58 of total sales for the year we continue 
to work closely with our distributor network and build on initiatives 
to improve our proximity to our researchers which is a recurring 
theme throughout our business and will be assisted by our 
south east asian business now being managed locally through 
our hong kong office 
catalogue growth
we have increased the number of products in the catalogue 
by 202 during the year to 63010 including over 50000 
antibodies of the 10610 new products over 7700 are 
antibodies from our supplier base which continues to give us 
access to many top quality antibodies and almost 700 were our 
own produced antibodies we have also extended the breadth 
of antibodyrelated reagents we offer by over 2200 products 
including adding more elisa kits ihc reagents proteins and 
other protein detection tools the largest by number were proteins 
and growth in protein sales in the year was over 50 at £12m
developing our business 
through communication
we value communication with our staff suppliers 
customers and the scientific community ideally we like 
to meet face to face at tradeshows conferences and 
key account activities one way for us to gain insight 
into customer needs is with focus groups in the past 
year we held three meeting with scientists and discussing 
the challenges they face in their labs today
customer engagement
we run quarterly surveys to 
speak with customers and monitor 
satisfaction with our products 
and services 
our market research team is able to gather intelligence 
quickly by polling customers on a range of topics we act 
swiftly on feedback and inform future business decisions 
above our open plan environment fosters crossdepartmental 
communication everyone working together for the best outcome
developing 
leaders 13
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
new products added during the year contributed £27m to 
sales in total representing 38 of total sales as information is 
added to these products through external publications customer 
feedback and our own characterisation we expect sales from 
them to increase over time
during the year we refined our inventory purchasing methodology 
with the aim of improving customer service levels by increasing 
the number of orders that can be fulfilled directly from stock 
this has resulted in an increase in inventory on a selective basis 
and as a result the closing inventory level was £91m 2009 £68m 
ecommerce and marketing
the performance of the website is key to our success and during 
the year we have continued to invest to improve both the website 
functionality and accessibility the response time for users around 
the world has improved by an average of 29 during the year 
and we have launched a chinese version of the site to support 
our marketing initiatives in that region 
we pride ourselves on our ability to work closely across our 
business disciplines for example our ecommerce it and 
marketing departments work together on our ongoing programme 
aimed at making the marketing to our customer database more 
effective and more relevant this has been very successful over 
the years and continues to drive record numbers of visits to our 
website which saw an increase of 29 over last year 
the development and implementation of a new software 
module means that we can now undertake promotional activities 
which can be targeted at particular audiences and at particular 
complementary product ranges making our marketing much 
more efficient and cost effective we look forward to building on 
our ecommerce model which will serve us well as we expand our 
range of protein detection tools 
our conference programme is a very effective marketing tool 
enabling us to promote abcam at the same time as hearing first 
hand from speakers and attendees about new developments at 
the cutting edge of research in the 200910 financial year we 
held over a dozen events in locations across the world and were 
delighted with the calibre of speakers we were able to attract 
the year also saw record levels of customer satisfaction with 
the scientific quality of the conferences and several events were 
oversubscribed demonstrating our increased success in this area 
our production facility
we reorganised our production facility during the 200809 
financial year since which time great strides forward have 
been made in terms of production efficiency and in meeting our 
ongoing commitment to increase characterisation data on our 
products the images provided by the production facility feed 
into our strategy of continually adding data to the catalogue from 
a range of sources which this year included a continuation of 
our programme of commissioning data provision from selected 
third parties
“ we have increased the number of products in the catalogue by 202 
during the year to 63010 including over 50000 antibodies”
“this year were redesigning our product 
datasheets these represent the most important 
content on our website so we created a beta site 
allowing us to share and seek feedback on the new 
design and functionality in advance of a 
mainstream launch”
kieran
business development
our library of technical 
literature is very popular 
with customers who use 
them as teaching aids  14
annual report and accounts 2010 abcam plc
chief executive officer’s review continued
our production facility continued
production in the year was at record levels through improved 
management of our product pipeline and an overhaul of our 
processes which also saw the introduction of a new quality control 
system to ensure quality is maintained as production increases 
efficiency initiatives and people
a review of the year would not be complete without reference to 
our drive for efficiency improvements which has been an integral 
part of our thinking since the company was founded during the 
year we have reduced the size of our packaging and designed a 
smaller format of the data sheets which we use when shipping 
products to customers this has increased efficiency as the new 
packs are easier to handle whilst also improving our ability to 
maintain a temperaturecontrolled environment during shipping 
as part of this initiative we redesigned the holders in which we 
ship vials to make them smaller and lighter the new holders are 
coloured interconnecting abcambranded bricks helping to 
improve efficiency whilst also representing a significant marketing 
opportunity and have been a great success with customers
the dedication ability and sheer enthusiasm of our staff are an 
inspiration and it is their efforts that are behind the company’s 
achievements so enormous thanks to them i would also like to 
welcome mike redmond as our new chairman who is already 
making a significant contribution to the board
fostering a creative 
approach
to ensure we maintain efficiency and develop our 
product offering employees are encouraged to 
champion their ideas this culture of improvement and 
innovation ensures we have a pipeline of opportunities 
to assess creating added value to customers whilst 
increasing profitability of the group if it’s something 
we’re passionate about and is beneficial to customers 
and the business we’ll make it happen
constant innov ation
“ the dedication ability and sheer enthusiasm of our staff are an 
inspiration and it is their efforts that are behind the company’s 
achievements”
processing thousands of 
orders every year we spend a lot 
of time labelling products with no 
automated solution on the market 
we codeveloped an automated vial 
labelling machine this improved 
the efficiency of our operation teams 
fourfold and the design patent 
offers future licensing opportunities 
above our characteristic packaging is very popular with customers 
reducing waste and giving storage flexibility 
we’ve also integrated dry ice shipping facilities enabling us to 
provide customers with a more extensive range of temperature 
sensitive proteins
innovative 
packaging
 
  for more on our staff and their thoughts on 
working at abcam turn to the inside back cover 15
abcam plc annual report and accounts 2010
abcam is uniquely positioned
pressure on governments to address deficits 
could reduce research funding which may 
impact our business
resilient business model – geographically well 
hedged with global reach
business continues to be highly cash generative 
with a strong balance sheet
global market demand for research antibody 
reagents continues to increase
an exciting and challenging time as we look to 
both strengthen our leading market position and 
capitalise on new opportunities in protein 
detection and regulation studies
extending into these areas through organic 
oemtype deals as well as strategic 
investment possibilities
strategic development
abcam’s ruthless focus on giving our customers the widest 
possible choice of antibody research tools for detection and study 
of their proteins has created a very successful business which has 
been able to continually and sustainably generate significant 
value for all its stakeholders we have a proven and defensible 
business model delivering strong underlying growth with the 
potential to expand by leveraging our ecommerce model supply 
side strategy strong brand and customer base 
this is an exciting and challenging time for abcam as we look to 
both strengthen our market position as the leader in antibody 
research tools and at the same time expand our product offering 
into the broader area of protein detection and regulation studies 
we believe that we are well placed to achieve these goals 
abcam’s success to date has resulted from our singleminded 
focus on refining our core business model and incrementally 
expanding it so that it is aligned to the needs of the researcher 
supporting them in the study of proteins to unlock the secrets of 
cells in health and disease this is a commitment that we at 
abcam have all signed up to deliver through a combination of 
continuing organic growth for example via oemtype deals and 
also looking for strategic investment opportunities
jonathan milner
chief executive officer
6 september 2010
elodie
business intelligence 
and opportunities
we place considerable value on the 
involvement of our employees  
turn to page 26 for an overview of our 
corporate social and ethical policies
“the bio team works to  
identify exciting ideas from new business 
opportunities to operational efficiencies and 
turns the most valuable ideas into projects 
this year one of our projects was to introduce 
platforms to handle new product types”