abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
delivering 
continued growth overview
 ifc performance highlights
 01 the abcam story 
 02 what weve achieved
 04 whats next
 06 chairman’s report
business review
 08 we deliver 
 10 chief executive officer’s review 
 18 financial review 
governance
 22 board of directors 
 24 corporate directory
 25 directors’ report 
 32 corporate governance statement 
 39 directors’ remuneration report 
 49  statement of directors’ responsibilities 
financial statements
 50 independent auditor’s report 
 52 consolidated income statement 
   consolidated statement of 
comprehensive income 
 53  consolidated statement of changes 
in equity 
 54 consolidated balance sheet 
 55 consolidated cash flow statement
 56 company balance sheet
 57 company cash flow statement 
   company statement of 
comprehensive income 
 58  company statement of changes 
in equity 
 59  notes to the consolidated 
financial statements
 ibc our staff
performance 
highlights
833
revenue £m
321
profit before tax £m
1323
earnings per share pence
contents
   revenue increased by 171 to £833m 2010 £711m
   pretax profits increased by 251 to £323m 
2010 £258m before costs of £02m 2010 £nil 
associated with the acquisition of mitosciences inc 
   product range grew by 169 to 73652 antibodies 
and related products 2010 63010
  sales of nonprimary antibody products increased by over 
50 and represented 85 of sales 2010 64
  completed the acquisition of mitosciences inc in may 2011 
a leading provider of mitochondrial research tools based 
in oregon usa
  strong focus on addition of product characterisation data 
during the year with a doubling of images added by the 
inhouse production facility or specifically commissioned 
from third parties
  net cash and shortterm investments at 30 june 2011 
of £556m 2010 £402m
  basic earnings per share eps increased by 230 
to 1323 pence per share 2010 1076 pence
  recommended final dividend increased by 300 
to 3800 pence per share 2010 2922 pence giving 
a total increase in dividend for the year of 311 to 
5250 pence 2010 4006 pence
    as adjusted for five for one share subdivision which took place on 
15 november 2010
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abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
01
how we’re delivering
our focus now is on building 
on this success as we expand our 
product range into the broader 
market of protein research tools 
throughout this report abcam 
employees explain some of our 
current key initiatives
how we’re improving
p08
p14
how we’re adding product features
abcam was established  
13 years ago with the mission to  
build the largest catalogue of the 
best antibodies in the world
our ecommerce platform has revolutionised 
the buying of antibodies and we are now a market 
leader in this space distributing to more than 88 
countries worldwide moving forward we will build 
on this success as we expand our product range 
into the broader market of protein research tools
our customers are research scientists who need 
high performance products with detailed technical 
specifications our informationrich products together 
with expert customer support and fast delivery 
continues to make us the researcher’s choice
p13 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 02
abcam has become the 
market leader in research 
antibodies through its 
commitment to product 
quality and associated data 
constant innovation in its 
operational efficiency and 
dedication to customer support
nurturing employee excellence has been a key factor in 
achieving this and we currently boast a team of more than 
50 inhouse phds
our business model relies on the following 
key elements
 high quality products
 secure supply strategy
 rapid global delivery
what we’ve achieved
our close links with the scientific community mean we 
are able to keep in touch with research trends and source 
products that support these developments
scientific expertise
in addition to our own team of 
scientists we work with a range of 
industryleading scientific partners 
to offer an unrivalled set of data and 
multimedia technical resources 
including a yearly programme of 
worldclass conferences
enhanced services
to further our support offering this 
year we increased the length of our 
product guarantee from 120 days to six 
months improved order cutoff times 
and extended technical support hours 
in key regions giving greater flexibility 
to customers globally
wwwabcamcom
supporting the scientific community
 proven ecommerce model
  strong brand and 
customer base
key performance indicators kpis
as at 30 june
number of products in catalogue
11
73652 
10
63010
09
52400
73652
we constantly add new 
products from a variety 
of suppliers as well as 
those developed 
inhouse to bring our 
customers the best 
products available 
regardless of source 
website response time seconds
11
165
10
129
09
181
165
we aim to achieve 
a website response 
time of less than two 
seconds on average 
across abcamcom 
globally the increase 
this year was due to 
a recalibration of the 
calculation in order 
to better reflect the 
enduser experience abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
03
the speed with which we are able to bring 
products to market and deliver them to 
customers is one of our core strengths
our customers
we have developed an international 
customer base and ship to over 88 
countries we continue to explore 
distribution channels to attract new 
customers and extend our global reach 
our operational model allows us to offer 
next day delivery in most regions 
our suppliers
we manufacture our own products 
in two specialist facilities as well as 
sourcing from over 300 partners 
this way we are able to offer scientists 
the newest and best research tools 
available globally regardless of source 
our offices
our five regional offices and distributor 
network mean we have global reach 
and can provide a localised service 
offering abcam is headquartered in 
cambridge uk with us offices in 
cambridge ma and eugene or and 
far east offices in tokyo and hong kong 
distributing internationally
sales of nonprimary antibody 
products as a  of total sales
11
85 
10
64
09
60
85
we are seeing a 
good takeup of 
our growing range of 
nonprimary antibody 
products such as 
secondary antibodies 
kits proteins peptides 
and lysates
number of publications 
referencing abcam products
1
11
17417 
10
10825
09
8224
17417
supporting data such as 
references images and 
reviews are crucial for 
our customers to find 
the right product so we 
actively seek publication 
references and add these 
to our product data sheets
website uptime
11
9994
10
9992
09
9997
9994
downtime in 2011 
amounted to 285 minutes 
of which 233 minutes 
occurred in one isp 
outage the disaster 
recovery website has 
been isolated from the 
main public website 
so that future loss of 
connectivity of our web 
host is less likely to result 
in website downtime 
operating profit to revenue
11
381
10
361
09
279
2
 
381
continued tight 
management of costs 
has enabled us to 
further improve 
operating margins
number of debtor days at year end
11
35
10
33
09
32
35
we expect debtor days 
to increase gradually 
over time in line with 
practice in local markets 
as the geographic spread 
of sales widens whilst 
maintaining our tight 
credit control processes
orders fulfilled directly 
from stock average for year
11
790
10
765
09
743 790
having units in stock 
available for immediate 
shipment is a key 
component in our 
objective to improve 
delivery times 
for customers 
1
  source pubmed central  
wwwncbinlmnihgovpmc 
2
   including £11m impairment 
of tangible assets associated 
with the higher volume 
production processes which 
will not be implemented abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 04
what’s next
abcam’s mission is to 
become the leading provider 
of protein research tools 
the next phase of growth will come from our 
continued focus on core markets and customers 
expanding our product offering and strengthening 
our geographic penetration 
some nearterm activities
support
increasing localised customer support 
through virtual and regional offices
our key objectives are to
  continue to add new and high 
quality primary antibodies to 
the catalogue
  increase our range of nonprimary 
antibody products such as proteins 
peptides immunoassays and kits
  use our ecommerce model 
and distributor network to expand 
market reach in key regions
we will achieve 
these through
  proven supplier management 
strategy with effective cost control
  sound market intelligence to 
make informed decisions on 
new product opportunities
  developing the abcam brand 
beyond antibodies
efficiency
continued investment in the operational 
model to support nonprimary 
antibody products
information
modernising the website to reflect our 
product offering beyond antibodies
p08
turn to the business 
review to find out more abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
05
supporting our longterm 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 offering and extending phone line opening hours
  continually driving business improvement by optimising 
efficiency and scalability of internal processes
  investing to drive longterm growth whilst maintaining tight 
cost control
abcam’s focus on giving customers 
the widest choice of antibody 
research tools has created a very 
successful business which has 
been able to consistently and 
sustainably generate significant 
value for all its stakeholders
geographic markets in focus
percentage of sales in 2010
 the americas £369m
 europe £218m
 uk £63m
 japan £90m
 hkchina £39m
  rest of the world £54m
percentage of sales in 2011
  the americas £318m
 europe £198m
 uk £56m
 japan £68m
 hkchina £28m
  rest of the world £43m
a focus on china
china has seen strong growth since 
a local office was established in 2009 
the number of subdealers has increased 
to 16 who now support 12 provinces 
giving better geographical coverage in key 
regions our importexport processes have 
been streamlined reducing delivery times 
to customers by over a week and the office 
will shortly move to a new 2500 sq ft facility 
giving better storage and handling of new 
products as well as accommodating a 
growing number of local support staff 
“ we now have distributor agreements 
in the key cities in hong kong and china 
reflecting the major centres for life science 
research our focus now is to build on these 
relationships and improve customer service 
such as increasing marketing collateral 
available in mandarin”
jonathan milner chief executive officer abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 06
chairman’s report
mike redmond chairman
“abcam has performed well in the financial year ended 
30 june 2011 and we were particularly encouraged to 
see such strong growth in the far east” 
  we have recommended an increase in 
the total annual dividend by 311 
subject to approval by shareholders 
at the agm
  to ensure continued high growth 
our strategy is evolving to extend 
our product offerings into the 
broader market of protein 
research tools
  with our extensive market presence 
and adaptable distribution platform 
we are ideally placed to build on 
our success
  i thank tim dye and mark webster 
who have decided to step down from 
the board after the agm for the 
tremendous contribution they have 
each made to abcam’s success
  we look forward to welcoming 
tony martin to the board as a 
nonexecutive director later 
this month
introduction
abcam has performed well in the 
financial year ended 30 june 2011 
against a background of uncertainty in 
our core market and we have continued 
to make significant strides in pursuit of our 
strategic objectives we continue to take 
market share in our core primary antibody 
business and have further broadened our 
range of other reagents involved in protein 
research not least through the acquisition 
of mitosciences with our extensive market 
presence and adaptable distribution 
platform we are ideally placed to build 
on this success
strategy and outlook
a significant proportion of our 
customers are universities and other 
centres of research excellence which rely 
on government funding for several years 
we have expressed caution that the way 
in which western governments adjust their 
spending patterns may affect our business 
it has become apparent during the year 
that it is not only actual reductions that 
have an impact on researchers’ spending 
but the threat of cuts can be sufficient to 
cause a reaction as well as noted in our 
interim report we saw this in the uk earlier 
in the year and we have seen a similar 
effect in the us more recently as a result 
of the protracted discussions on addressing 
their economic situation
elsewhere areas of europe have been 
impacted to a lesser degree and we are 
encouraged to see that china continues 
to show strong growth performance in 
japan has also remained strong despite 
the disruption caused by the earthquake 
and subsequent tsunami this validates 
our continued focus on international 
expansion to progressively reduce our 
exposure to any one region
decisions have been taken recently by 
governments such as in the us to reduce 
their funding for research and others may 
follow whilst this will present challenges 
for our business there is little experience 
to draw on as to what its impact may be 
on our growth the strength of our business 
model which enables us to make rapid 
additions to the catalogue and deliver 
high quality products has allowed us to 
gain market share and grow strongly even 
when increases in funding budgets have 
been modest for example in the us the 
national institutes of health nih budget 
increased by a compound annual average 
of around 2 between 2005 and 2010 
excluding the stimulus to the us economy 
during 200910 from the american recovery 
and reinvestment act 2009 arra during 
which time abcam’s sales in the us grew 
by a compound annual rate of almost 29 
we also have a degree of defensibility as 
sellers of consumables rather than large 
ticket items which are more likely to 
be affected
trading in the new financial year reflects the 
market conditions above however revenue 
growth continues and profits are on track 
to meet consensus market expectations
as explained in more detail in the 
chief executive officer’s review the board 
is implementing a strategy of extending 
our product offerings into fields adjacent 
to antibodies under the wider umbrella 
of protein research tools these additional 
in summary
abcamplccomreports abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
07
areas will be accessed by oem deals and 
where appropriate by acquisition such was 
the case with mitosciences which brings 
both new products and a development 
capability we believe that these strategies 
will ensure that abcam in the long term 
continues to grow faster than the markets 
in which it operates
corporate governance
abcam values corporate governance 
highly and this is reflected in our 
governance principles policies and 
practices the board believes that effective 
corporate governance will assist in the 
delivery of our corporate strategy the 
generation of shareholder value and the 
safeguarding of shareholders’ longterm 
interests we are committed therefore 
wherever it is reasonably practicable 
to ensure that the group is managed in 
accordance with the principles set out 
in the uk corporate governance code 
as appropriate to the group considering 
its size and stage of development
directors
after helping to guide abcam through 
a period of rapid growth over the last five 
years tim dye and mark webster have 
both decided to step down from the board 
after next month’s annual general meeting 
agm consequently the opportunity 
has been taken to review the balance 
of financial sector specific and general 
business skills represented on the board 
and i am very pleased to announce that 
tony martin who has wide life science 
research tools experience will be joining 
as a nonexecutive director later this 
month we have also identified that 
the company would benefit from the 
appointment of a nonexecutive director 
with broad ecommerce experience and 
we hope to be able to announce another 
appointment soon
i would like to take this opportunity to thank 
tim and mark for the tremendous contribution 
they have each made to abcam’s success
dividends
the board announced in the company’s 
interim results its intention to increase 
the dividend distribution ratio to 40 of 
posttax profit in light of the strong cash flow 
and continued success of the group an 
interim dividend of 145 pence per share 
was paid in april 2011 and consequently 
the directors are recommending a final 
dividend of 380 pence per share making 
a total of 525 pence for the year an increase 
of 311 on that paid last year subject 
to shareholder approval at the agm 
in october the final dividend will be paid 
on 25 november 2011 to shareholders 
on the register on 4 november 2011
investing  
in talent
our people are our biggest asset and investment in 
the learning and development of staff continues to be 
significant this year we implemented a management 
framework training programme to develop leadership 
skills in the business we conduct an annual staff survey 
and are delighted to have over 96 participation 
stakeholders
once again i would like to extend my thanks 
to our staff on which abcam’s success is 
built and offer a warm welcome to the 
group to the employees of mitosciences 
we would also like to thank all our other 
stakeholders – customers suppliers and 
shareholders – whose continued support 
also contributes to our success
mike redmond
chairman 
12 september 2011
21
increase in visits to our website
360000

units shipped during the year abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 08
we 
deliver
business review
we are delighted to report on another outstanding 
year for abcam we continue to deliver sustained 
growth across the entire portfolio achieving a 
171 increase in revenue this year in addition 
we have also delivered significant progress with 
the introduction of our new product ranges  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
09
“this year we’ve been working 
on developing processes for 
handling new products which can 
have different storage and 
shipping conditions we’ve also been 
reviewing packaging solutions for 
new products to achieve the same 
flexibility as our building blocks 
which are very popular 
with customers”
jon barrett goods out supervisor  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 10
business review chief executive officer’s review
jonathan milner chief executive officer
i am delighted to report on another 
successful year for abcam total sales 
for the year were £833m 2010 £711m 
including £02m from our new subsidiary 
mitosciences which was acquired on 
23 may 2011 this represents organic 
growth of 169 or 168 on a constant 
currency basis assuming exchange rates 
had been the same as those recorded 
throughout the prior year
our strategy is to deliver profitable 
growth by
  introducing high quality products to 
our catalogue to continue to enhance 
the breadth of the product range 
as well as increasing our range of 
primary antibodies
  continuing to increase the validation 
information on the products in the 
catalogue from as many relevant 
sources as possible 
  extending our geographic penetration and
  further improving our customer service 
and support
during the year we have made significant 
progress on all these fronts our aim is to 
continue to build on our success within the 
“our aim is to continue to build on our 
success within the primary antibody market 
whilst using our established market reach and 
distribution platform to achieve strong growth 
in related life science tools markets”
  organic revenue growth of 169 
with nonprimary antibody products 
now representing 85 of total sales
  successful acquisition and integration 
of mitosciences with over 200 
products added to our catalogue 
within six weeks of acquisition
  10642 products added to the 
catalogue in the year generating 
£28m of sales
  redesign of the public website 
homepage to support more product 
ranges and better identify and 
present crossselling opportunities
  increase of over 100 in the 
number of images added to the 
data in our catalogue
  continue to focus on geographic 
expansion in markets where 
government research funding is 
increasing and on building out the 
extended catalogue both organically 
and perhaps through ma activity
3000

nonprimary antibody products 
added to our catalogue
“since launching a new 
range of apoptosis assay 
kits we achieved 25 
uplift in sales over the year 
these kits quickly and easily 
measure activity by metabolic 
analyte and are used by 
scientists predominantly 
working in cancer research 
abcam is already well 
positioned to serve 
researchers in this area 
so it’s easier for us to bring 
new products to market 
through our existing 
customer base”
gus mzumara reagents product manager
in summary abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
11
primary antibody market whilst using our 
established market reach and powerful 
distribution platform to achieve strong 
growth in related life science tools markets 
the drive for efficiency improvements is core 
to the way we operate and despite increasing 
the proportion of nonantibody products 
that we handle we were able to take 
advantage of the operational gearing in the 
business to increase profit before tax by 
251 to £323m 2010 £258m before 
costs of £02m associated with the acquisition 
of mitosciences eps increased by 230 
to 1323 pence 2010 1076 pence
market review
figure 1 overleaf outlines the revenues 
derived from each region in sterling as 
well as underlying currencies giving year 
on year growth rates
sales in the americas grew by 160 
to 583m 2010 502m representing 
442 of our total sales for the year after 
an unusually strong first half of our fiscal 
year we have seen more cautious spending 
amongst academic researchers which 
reduced growth in the second half a large 
proportion of us research funding is provided 
by the nih and we believe that this caution 
was caused by uncertainty surrounding the 
outcome of central government negotiations 
on the setting of the nih budget
the relationship between us funding 
and its impact on abcam’s sales is 
complex and we have grown for many 
years significantly ahead of nih’s budget 
levels increases in which have been 
modest furthermore as a provider of 
research tool consumables abcam can 
expect to be less affected by reductions 
in the nih budget than for example those 
companies supplying more expensive 
laboratory equipment 
the total budget for life science nih 
research was around 303bn in the 
calendar year 2009 312bn in 2010 
and is estimated to be 309bn in 2011 
the outlook for nih funding thereafter is 
likely to be caught up in budget reviews 
by the recently established joint select 
committee on deficit reduction which 
is charged with substantially reducing 
the us deficit over the next ten years
continued growth what were doing
introducing new 
products to complement 
our existing range
this year we added more than 3000 nonprimary 
antibody products to the catalogue and have 
successfully launched a number of new 
product ranges
through our proven oem model we are able to 
source popular research tools that complement 
our existing catalogue and consolidate products 
into distinct ranges for easy use by researchers 
customer adoption rates to new products have 
been high utilising existing marketing channels 
and our geographic reach we were able to grow 
sales of nonprimary antibody products by over 
50 over the year
our target going forward is to increase sales 
of nonprimary antibodies so they represent 
over 10 of overall sales  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 12
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
these figures exclude the arra stimulus 
to the us economy during 200910 which 
provided around 104bn to nih funding 
it is difficult to determine whether or to 
what extent abcam’s sales increased 
as a consequence of arra although it is 
possible given that grants typically run for 
two to three years that some of these 
funds are still being spent 
as well as adding new high quality 
products and a proven assay development 
capability the acquisition of mitosciences 
will also enable us to consolidate our 
customer service and technical support 
functions on the west coast in eugene 
oregon based on our earlier success 
we will however retain our marketing 
presence in california
sales to europe grew by 133 to 
€255m 2010 €225m representing 
263 of our total sales for the year 
our main european markets continue 
to be germany and france both of which 
performed satisfactorily the rest of europe 
is made up of a number of smaller 
markets many of which also performed 
acceptably a notable exception is italy 
where a combination of new administrative 
requirements and disappointing local 
distributor performance which has since 
been addressed led to a reduction in year 
on year sales of 98 our focus remains 
on providing high levels of customer 
support including in local language for 
the larger european countries if there is 
sufficient potential in the market to justify it 
during the year we added customer support 
in spanish
we had a successful year in the uk where 
uncertainty caused by the government’s 
spending review negatively impacted on 
sales in the first half of the year sales 
growth subsequently improved in the 
second half to give total sales for the year 
of £63m 2010 £56m representing 
growth of 108 the uk accounted for 
75 of total group sales
our business in japan has been remarkably 
robust in the face of the adversities caused 
by the earthquake and tsunami which hit the 
country in march this is due in no small 
part to the dedicated and steadfast way our 
staff performed during very difficult times 
the directly affected area in the north of 
the country represented around 5 of our 
japanese business but despite widespread 
disruption we were trading again with the 
rest of the country within a few days 
during the year we also increased the 
coverage of our overall product range 
which is available in japan and are very 
happy to report sales growth of 204 to 
¥1183m 2010 ¥983m this represented 
108 of our total group sales for the year
in hong kong and china we now 
have distributor arrangements in the key 
cities that are the centres for life science 
research our focus now is to build on 
these relationships and to improve 
customer service initiatives undertaken 
during the year include increasing 
the marketing materials available in 
mandarin and reorganising our logistics 
arrangements into china allowing us 
to ship directly into beijing and cut our 
delivery times to customers we continue 
to expect china to be a strong growth 
prospect for us in the coming financial 
year and we have a number of options for 
better supporting sales in the region under 
consideration including holding inventory 
in the region sales to china increased to 
hk481m 2010 hk343m representing 
a growth rate of 401 and now accounting 
for 47 of group sales
sales to the rest of the world predominantly 
the remainder of south east asia increased 
by 274 to 86m 2010 68m 
representing 65 of total sales for the year 
our local team based in hong kong is now 
managing our asia pacific business which is 
mostly served through our distributor network 
whilst we have had some tremendous 
success such as in south korea trading in 
singapore which represents less than 1 
of our total sales has been more difficult with 
little growth in the year due to government 
spending cuts
all the regional sales figures above exclude 
sales of 03m made by mitosciences 
which was acquired in may this year we 
are delighted to have acquired a company 
with skilled personnel in assay development 
capability and a product pipeline to build 
on its existing high quality mitochondrial 
research tools portfolio the integration of 
the business has gone well and over 200 
mitosciences products went live in the 
abcam catalogue at the beginning of july 
i have personally met the mitosciences 
team in oregon and was extremely 
impressed again i would like to take this 
opportunity to welcome them to abcam 
and thank them for their continuing 
commitment to the abcam mission
figure 1 regional revenue
 revenue in underlying currency revenue as reported in sterling
            201011 
       201011 200910  growth 201011 200910  of total
the americas      583m 502m 160 £367m £318m 442
europe excluding uk     €255m €225m 133 £218m £198m 263
uk       £63m £56m 108 £63m £56m 75
japan       ¥1183m ¥983m 204 £90m £68m 108
hong kongchina     hk481m hk343m 401 £39m £28m 47
rest of the world      86m 68m 274 £54m £43m 65
mitosciences      03m na na £02m na —
          £833m £711m 1000
 excluding reveune from mitosciences abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
13
continued growth what we’re doing
focus on adding 
product data
a key differentiator for abcam is the technical 
data that supports our products and a focus on 
adding value through product features continues 
to be a core element of the business strategy 
working with our inhouse laboratory this 
year we implemented a rigorous product 
characterisation project that tested over 3000 
antibodies in a combination of applications 
such as western blot and immunohistochemistry 
to meet customer demand and market trends 
we will extend testing to include more applications 
such as flow cytometry which also complement 
our extended product offering 
in addition to inhouse testing we are also 
able to characterise products through third 
party collaborations and we continue to work 
with our suppliers to ensure data is made 
available at the source 
“we are delighted at the 
rate we are able to test 
products and how quickly 
this new data becomes 
available on the website 
and impacts sales following 
the success of this project 
we are implementing 
similar testing for new 
product types”
david harvey senior laboratory technician
1317
images added to our portfolio 
during the year abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 14
catalogue growth and diversification
we have increased the number of products 
in the catalogue by 169 during the year 
to 73652 of which over 57000 are 
primary antibodies of the 10642 new 
products 7000 are primary antibodies 
from our supplier base and almost 500 
were our own produced antibodies in 
addition to adding over 1500 secondary 
antibodies we have continued to extend 
the breadth of antibodyrelated reagents 
we offer such as elisa kits ihc reagents 
and proteins the additions of which in the 
period totalled almost 1600 products
new products added during the year 
contributed £28m to sales in total 
representing 34 of total sales we 
expect sales of these products to grow 
as they mature on the catalogue and 
as information is added to them
ecommerce and marketing
as our main sales tool the performance 
of the website is key to our success and 
we have continued to invest to improve 
its security accessibility and functionality 
during the year we completed an exercise 
involving the relocation of our servers to a 
marketleading hosting facility in order to 
improve website scalability and resilience 
and to further reduce downtime 
we have also invested in the website 
specifically to promote nonprimary 
antibody products more effectively whilst 
also launching a record number of these 
products consequently we have seen 
an increase in data sheet viewings for 
nonprimary antibody products of over 
60 in the year indeed the transitioning 
from ‘the largest catalogue of the best 
antibodies in the world’ to a company 
with the potential to become a world 
leader in all protein research tools is 
underway as can be seen in changes to 
the public website where the homepage 
has been redesigned to support more 
product ranges and better identify and 
present crossselling opportunities
our conference programme continues 
to attract the key leaders in the fields 
with 200 key opinion leaders presenting 
cutting edge discoveries to over 2000 
delegates in total we held 18 conferences 
in 13 locations across all our core focus 
areas of particular note was our first 
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
continued growth what we’re doing
developing our business 
through communication
sound market intelligence and customer insight remain 
critically important to making well informed business 
decisions on new products and initiatives 
we have a dedicated market research team who 
conduct web and phone based surveys as well 
as inperson customer interviews in addition to 
monitoring customer satisfaction levels of products 
and services this team examines the viability of 
new markets and monitors abcam’s core business 
information is shared across business units and 
we ensure customer feedback is acted upon 
a key strength is the speed with which we are able 
to identify and assess opportunities and implement 
business strategies  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
15
cancer and metabolism conference 
relevant for our mitosciences range and 
our epigenetics conferences which have 
a reputation as second to none new for 
the year was the introduction of a webinar 
series of online technical seminars and 
tutorials they complement our traditional 
conference programme and both combined 
are highly effective tools in staying close 
to our customers to guide product 
development improve our service 
offering and sell more products 
our production facility
having units in stock available for 
immediate shipment is a key component 
in our objective to improve delivery times 
for customers to that end we have focused 
this year on a project to increase stock 
levels for our own produced antibodies 
with the aim of holding sufficient levels to 
meet at least two years’ worth of sales for 
a targeted list covering most of our own 
manufactured products this aim is to 
reduce the risk of not having sufficient 
stock on hand to fulfil orders directly and 
also means that we can improve production 
efficiencies by being able to schedule 
production well in advance of the stock 
being required the project has gone well 
and is expected to be completed during 
the 201112 financial year
production in the year was again at record 
levels and improvements to our processes 
saw better project success rates and yields 
resulting in lower unit costs in particular 
we have also introduced new innovative 
screening technology which has been 
applied very successfully to the production 
of antibodies particularly those which 
have historically been harder to make 
the facility is also heavily involved in our 
strategy of adding data to the catalogue 
from a range of sources in the year under 
review the number of images added by 
the facility or specifically commissioned 
from third parties increased by over 100 
thanks to a major focus on increasing our 
inhouse capability
efficiency initiatives 
we continue to drive for more efficiency in 
the business and this year was no exception 
we are investing in two new compound 
machines to enable us to increase our 
“secondary antibodies 
are a natural extension 
to the catalogue 
to understand customer 
perception of products 
in this range and their 
purchasing behaviours we 
worked with the market 
research team to identify 
opportunities we have 
since sourced additional 
products to support the 
portfolio these are 
already on the catalogue 
and selling well”
annina hube cfa marketing coordinator
customer satisfaction 
is measured continuously 
via phone and web surveys 
in key regions and we have 
the capability to conduct 
these in local languages 
92
of customers rate abcam’s 
products as good or excellent
abcamplccomreports
distribution of products on the catalogue
  primary  
antibodies 57007
  secondary  
antibodies 2382
  proteins and 
peptides 10546
  other products 3717
images added in the year by application
1317
436
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
  immunocytochemistry
immunofluorescence
  immunohistochemistry 
 western blot
 flow cytometry
200910 201011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 16
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
continued growth what we’re doing
acquisition of  
mitosciences
this year abcam acquired mitosciences a leading 
provider of mitochondrial research tools based in eugene 
usa their 200 products include high performance 
monoclonal antibodies and related products for use 
in metabolism research which complements abcam’s 
existing product range and customer base in this area
mitosciences has heavily invested in rd and is known 
for high quality easy to use and sophisticated assay 
products the acquisition extends abcam’s manufacturing 
and product development capabilities and supports our 
brand repositioning beyond antibodies 
combined with abcam’s existing product range and 
global market reach together we are a leading provider 
of tools for metabolism research worldwide
“the integration of 
mitosciences has been smooth 
from both an internal systems 
perspective and customer 
experience products were 
available via our website 
within six weeks we share 
the same values of product 
quality and customer support 
excellence which has also 
made transitioning easy”
elodie giuge corporate projects manager
“the mitosciences team is 
delighted with the level of 
integration we have been 
able to achieve in such a 
short time as well as aligning 
our systems and strategy 
we have worked to promote 
effective communication 
between offices we all look 
forward to a very successful 
future ahead”
john audette general manager mitosciences abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
17
product handling capacity one each in the 
uk and the us one of these was delivered 
installed and commissioned before the year 
end and the other will be brought into use 
early in 201112 together these machines 
almost double our minus 20 degree storage 
capacity the temperature at which the 
majority of our finished goods are held
it has taken many years of process 
improvement to achieve the high levels 
of efficiency at which we operate our 
primary antibody business the introduction 
of more new products to the catalogue 
presents challenges to which we are 
applying many of the techniques we 
have developed over time to limit any 
adverse impact on overall efficiency
strategic development 
we believe that abcam has the right 
strategy and positioning in the market 
to develop its worldleading antibody 
business into a broadly based global 
life science tools company delivering 
sustainable value creation for researchers 
and shareholders our success to date 
has been built on promoting feedback 
to identify our customers’ requirements 
and adapting our business to fulfil these 
in as efficient a way as possible whilst 
offering the broadest range of the highest 
quality products coupled with the best 
customer service and support this approach 
is ongoing and we continue to improve 
our offering for example by extending our 
product performance guarantee this year 
from four to six months from delivery 
we are proud of the fact that in feedback 
over 92 of our customers rate our service 
as good or excellent
our plan to build out from this position 
is already bearing fruit and nonprimary 
antibody product sales grew by over 
50 in the year now representing 85 
of total sales these early successes in 
protein research products that sit alongside 
antibodies on the research bench are 
extremely encouraging and justify our faith 
in our expansion strategy we are therefore 
excited about our prospects in building out 
the extended catalogue both organically 
through partnering and perhaps through 
ma activity
however we should not be blind to the 
challenges that lie ahead over 80 of our 
sales are funded by public money mainly 
through research grants and we have seen 
cuts in public spending in order to reduce 
budget deficits especially in the us and 
the uk which will provide headwinds for 
abcam in the short to medium term 
although the world economic climate 
looks uncertain for the next few years the 
fundamentals of the markets that abcam 
serves remain the same the inexorable 
rise in mankind’s desire for knowledge 
about how cells function and how they 
go wrong in disease will continue to drive 
demand for high quality validated research 
tools abcam remains perfectly positioned 
to be able to meet that demand 
abcam continues to focus on geographic 
expansion in markets where funding is 
increasing such as china and on selling a 
greater breadth of products required by our 
customers to carry out their protein research 
the commitment and excellence of 
abcam’s staff continually impresses 
and delights me again i would like to 
warmly thank all our staff worldwide for 
their commitment to abcam’s success 
both now and into the future
finally we must never forget that our 
customers’ continuous drive for discovery 
and abcam’s enabling products services 
and technologies that help facilitate that 
discovery remain central to our past and 
future success our staff together with our 
products services and technologies are 
central to achieving our goal of enabling 
our customers to discover more
jonathan milner
chief executive officer
12 september 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 18
business review continued financial review
jeff liffe chief financial officer
key performance indicators kpis
the group’s management uses kpis to 
monitor the progress of the business 
our kpis are detailed on pages 02 and 03
revenue
the group had another good year 
recording revenues of £833m before the 
sales contribution from mitosciences of 
£02m 03m this represents growth 
of 169 sterling was relatively stronger 
overall in the second half of the year against 
the currencies in which we sell and this 
cancelled out the revenue boost which 
was reported in the first half consequently 
sales growth was 168 on a constant 
currency basis ie if exchange rates for 
the foreign currencies in which the group 
sells had remained unchanged from 2010 
the weighted average exchange rates 
applied to sales in the year are shown 
in figure 2 below
gross margin
total gross profit increased by 182 
over the prior year 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 
margins reported for the period were 
673 2010 667 which comprised 
an increase of 10 in underlying margin 
which was partially offset by a year on year 
reduction of 04 from the impact of 
product line acquisition pla agreements 
going forward the effect of pla contracts 
is expected to be minimal
“the group had another good year recording 
revenues of £833m and an increase in total gross 
profit by 182 over the prior year we were successful 
in effectively managing increases in our average 
selling prices whilst controlling costs from suppliers 
and our own production costs”
  total revenue of £833m driven 
by organic sales growth of 168 
on a constant currency basis
  total gross profit increased by 
182 over the prior year giving 
a margin of 673
  continued tight management 
of costs including in the purchase 
of oem products further 
improvements in production 
efficiency and the benefits 
of economies of scale
  basic eps increased 230 to 
1323 pence 2010 1076 pence
  cash generation continues to 
be strong with operating cash 
inflows of £255m at 306 
of group revenue
p50
view our complete 
financial statements
in summary
      average for the year  average for h2
     201011  200910 201011  200910
us dollar    1588 1579 1619 1534
euro     1168 1135 1152 1141
japanese yen    131528 145155 131788 141733
hong kong dollar   12350 12282 12604 11957
figure 2 analysis of average exchange rates applied to sales abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
19
 hong kong dollar 04
 sterling 224
there was a positive impact on margin 
resulting from the weaker rates for the 
us dollar which was the transactional 
currency for 508 of sales in the year 
but for 667 of the costs of units sold in 
the year this was matched by a reduction 
in margin from movements in our other 
trading currencies to give an overall neutral 
effect on margins from exchange rates 
over the year 
the pie charts on the left show 
the contribution of each currency to 
revenue and cost of sales in 201011
administration and management expenses
prior to the inclusion of foreign 
exchange gains of £08m 2010 £04m
and costs associated with the acquisition 
of mitosciences of £02m 2010 £nil 
administration and management 
expenses increased by £32m to £217m 
2010 £185m as summarised 
in figure 3 below
the underlying costs remained unchanged 
since the prior year as a percentage of sales 
at 260 the main movements in costs 
arose as a result of
  an increase of £18m in salaries as 
a result of a 20 increase in average 
headcount excluding laboratory 
staff and staff joining the group from 
mitosciences in particular to increase 
staff resources in the company’s 
marketing and it functions with an 
emphasis on supporting new product 
areas and in customer services
  a 40 increase £03m in the  
sharebased payments charge as a 
result of the increase in headcount 
and the extension of the longterm 
incentive plan to senior managers
  a 55 increase £05m in marketing 
costs a large proportion of which related 
to the launching of new products and
  a charge of £03m 2010 £nil relating 
to external due diligence and consultancy 
costs associated with a potential acquisition 
which did not proceed during the first 
half of the year
research and development expenditure
research and development rd 
expenditure relates to the development 
of new polyclonal and monoclonal 
products as well as costs incurred in 
searching for and developing production 
process improvements
rd expenditure decreased by 127 
in the year to £32m 2010 £37m 
this reflects a significant exercise 
undertaken in the year to identify cost 
savings by renegotiating certain supply 
contracts as well as fewer projects having 
been undertaken in the year it is anticipated 
that rd expenditure will remain at broadly 
the same level for the coming year
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
cost of sales by currency
sales by currency
  us dollar 508
 euro 262
 japanese yen 108
 hong kong dollar 47
 sterling 75
  us dollar 667
 euro 79
 japanese yen 26
          201011 200910  
          £’000 £’000 increase
payroll and staff costs        10900 9102 198
sharebased payments charge       985 702 403
marketing costs         1460 939 554
costs of acquisition which did not proceed      302 — 1000
other operating costs        8039 7764 35
total underlying administration and management expenses     21686 18507 172
 of sales         260 260 
foreign exchange gains        799 438 827
costs of acquisition of mitosciences       202 — 1000
          21089 18069 167
figure 3 summary of administrative and management expenses abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 20
profit
after adding back the ongoing  
sharebased payments charge gains 
on foreign currencies and the costs of 
the mitosciences acquisition operating 
profit expressed as a percentage of sales 
was 387 2010 366 including a 
broadly neutral impact of exchange rates 
this strong performance reflects continued 
tight management of costs including in 
the purchase of oem products further 
improvements in production efficiency 
leading to lower costs for our own products 
and the benefits of economies of scale 
going forward the introduction of new 
products which are likely to have lower 
gross margins and be less efficient 
to handle and more overseas expansion 
in lower margin territories such as the 
far east will limit the opportunity 
for further operational gearing
investment revenue increased in the year 
reflecting the slightly higher rates available 
in the market and the growing cash balances
tax
the consolidated tax charge for the year 
was £83m representing an effective tax 
rate of 259 this reflects the 75 uplift 
in tax credits increasing to 100 uplift 
from 1 april 2011 arising from the qualifying 
rd undertaken in the period as well as 
the reduction in the main rate of corporation 
tax from 28 to 26 from 1 april 2011
the government has announced that the 
rd tax credit uplift will increase from 
100 to 125 and the main rate of 
corporation tax will decrease from 26 
to 25 from 1 april 2012 which we are 
expecting will serve to slightly reduce our 
group effective tax rate for 201112
looking further ahead we expect to 
no longer meet the government’s definition 
of a small or medium sized enterprise for tax 
purposes from 201213 onwards and will 
therefore only qualify for the rd tax credit 
allowance for large companies which is 
currently 30 the effect of this on our 
group effective tax rate will be partially 
offset by the 1 reductions in the main 
rate of corporation tax per annum currently 
planned to reach 23 with effect from 
1 april 2014
capital expenditure
figure 4 below summarises the additions of 
property plant and equipment in the year
additions of property plant and equipment 
increased by 162 compared to the prior 
year before accounting for those assets 
brought in as part of the mitosciences 
acquisition a new compound machine 
was purchased within the year costing 
£224000 and another is planned for early 
201112 as detailed in the chief executive 
officer’s review together these machines 
will almost double our minus 20 degree 
storage capacity the temperature at which 
the majority of our finished goods are held
we continue to invest in our facilities to 
enable the continuing growth of the company 
and therefore anticipate that our capital 
expenditure in 201112 will increase to 
accommodate the following planned projects
  the purchase of an additional compound 
machine as outlined above
  the redesign of our uk laboratory 
facility and expansion of the mitosciences 
laboratory space to adequately 
accommodate planned production 
levels and other laboratorybased 
testing requirements
business review continued financial review
      201011 
     abcam  acquisition of     
     underlying mitosciences total 200910 
     £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
computer equipment   196 — 196 252
laboratory equipment   554 128 682 321
office equipment fixtures and fittings  35 18 53 150
hybridomas    96 — 96 35
     881 146 1027 758
figure 4 analysis of capital expenditure
enabling  
continued 
growth
we continue to invest in 
our facilities to enable the 
continuing growth of the 
company projects for 
the upcoming year include 
the creation of a new 
goodsingoodsout area 
in cambridge ma usa 
and the relocation of our 
japanese and hong kong 
offices to larger premises abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
21
  the creation of a new goodsingoodsout 
area in our cambridge ma usa office 
to enhance the capacity and efficiency 
of this area of operations
  the relocation of each of our japanese and 
hong kong offices to larger premises and
  a continuing investment in the renewal 
of computer equipment
inventories
the level of inventories increased by 
159 in the year after deducting £02m 
held by mitosciences this is slightly below 
the growth in sales and reflects the strategy 
adopted during the year to increase the 
levels of own produced inventory to the 
equivalent of two years’ sales for most 
lines in order to provide better security 
of supply for customers and improve 
production efficiencies this initiative is 
well under way and should be completed 
during the 201112 financial year
our systems enable strong inventory 
control and we intentionally increased 
inventory in the final quarter of 200910 
to increase the percentage of orders which 
we can fulfil directly from stock which has 
been maintained at over 790 for the 
year 2010 765 the success of this 
exercise means that we are planning to 
extend this further in the 201112 
financial year
in addition to growth broadly in line 
with sales inventory levels are expected 
to increase over time as more products 
manufactured by mitosciences are launched 
and once we have established a stock location 
in china which is planned during the 
201112 financial year 
receivables
we have strong debtor control processes 
and exercise tight credit control debtor days 
at the year end were 350 2010 326 
the majority of sales continue to be on credit 
and we would expect to see a gradual trend 
of increasing debtor days over time in line 
with practice in local markets as the 
geographic spread of sales widens
payables 
trade and other payables rose by 203 
from £69m to £83m this figure includes 
deferred income of £09m 2010 £13m 
including £06m of the cash incentive of 
£11m received on entering into a new 
lease for the head office during 2009 
figure 5 summary of cash flow
       201011 200910 
       £’000 £’000
cash and shortterm deposits at beginning of year   40222 25501
operating cash flows before movements in working capital  34446 28710
working capital      1593 3778
income taxes paid     7370 5210
net cash inflow from operating activities    25483 19722
as a percentage of revenue     306 277
investment income     291 176
net capital expenditure including intangibles   1155 815
net cash outflow on acquisition of mitosciences   2448 —
dividends paid      7876 5316
proceeds from issue of share capital    891 949
effect of foreign exchange rate changes    162 5
net cash inflow      15347 14721
cash and shortterm deposits at end of year   55569 40222
2010 £08m which is to be credited to 
profit and loss over the life of the lease 
the main contributor to the total increase 
in payables over the prior year was trade 
payables which increased by 383 to 
£35m 2010 £26m due to the timing 
of payments to our suppliers around the 
year end
cash flow
a summary of the group’s cash flow during 
the year is shown in figure 5 above
the group’s cash generation continues 
to be strong with operating cash inflows 
of £255m at 306 of group revenue 
consequently after a net payment of 
£24m for the acquisition of mitosciences 
after adding back the cash acquired on 
acquisition of £01m dividends amounting 
to £79m and other financing and 
investing activities the group’s cash 
and shortterm deposits increased 
during the year by £153m 
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
eps
including costs of acquisition of 
£02m diluted eps increased by 235 
to 1298 pence 2010 1051 pence 
whilst basic eps also increased 230 
to 1323 pence 2010 1076 pence 
the increase in basic and diluted eps 
reflects the increase in profit higher effective 
tax rate and increase in the weighted average 
number of shares issued during the year 
including 279521 shares issued as 
partial consideration on the acquisition 
of mitosciences
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 25
jeff liffe
chief financial officer
12 september 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 22
board of directors
1 mike redmond
3 jeff liffe
2 jonathan milner
4 jim warwick
p39
the directors 
remuneration report
1 mike redmond chairman
date of appointment march 2009
mike redmond who joined abcam in march 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
2 jonathan milner phd chief executive officer
date of appointment april 1998
jonathan milner is an 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 postdoctoral researcher at bath university 
following which he worked at the university of cambridge in the laboratory 
of professor tony kouzarides studying cancer specifically the brca2 gene in 
hereditary breast cancer whilst in research he identified the market opportunity 
for supplying high quality antibodies to support protein interaction studies 
in 1998 jonathan founded abcam with david cleevely and professor tony 
kouzarides to supply the rapidly growing market for antibodies and related 
products jonathan is an active supporter of the cambridge uk business 
community he is chairman of cambridge temperature concepts limited ctc 
a medical device company with a platform technology in wireless temperature 
sensing jonathan is also a nonexecutive director of horizon discovery a 
personalised genomics company
3 jeff liffe aca chief financial officer
date of appointment november 2007
jeff liffe 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
4 jim warwick ma chief operating officer
date of appointment november 2000
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 2000 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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
23
5 tim dye ma nonexecutive director
date of appointment may 2006
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 uk’s 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
6 peter keen aca nonexecutive and senior independent director
date of appointment october 2005
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 chairman of 
oval medical technologies ltd and exosect limited and a nonexecutive director 
of ark therapeutics group plc and 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
7 tony kouzarides phd nonexecutive director
date of appointment april 1998
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 vencer el cancer operating in spain
8 mark webster nonexecutive director
date of appointment july 2006
mark webster joined abcam’s board as a nonexecutive director in july 
2006 and is currently ceo of bio products laboratory 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
5 tim dye
7 tony kouzarides
6 peter keen
8 mark webster 24 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
registered office
330 cambridge science park 
milton road 
cambridge 
cb4 0fl
registered number
3509322
company secretary
jeff liffe
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
auditor
deloitte llp 
chartered accountants 
cambridge uk
public relations advisor
buchanan communications limited 
107 cheapside 
london 
ec2v 6dn
banker
national westminster bank plc 
king’s parade 
cambridge 
cb2 3pu
registrar
capita registrars 
northern house 
woodsome park 
fenay bridge 
huddersfield 
hd8 0ga
corporate directory abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
25
the directors present their annual report on the affairs of the group together with the financial statements and the independent 
auditor’s report for the year ended 30 june 2011 the corporate governance statement set out on pages 32 to 38 forms part of 
this report although not required to do so by the aim listing rules the directors have provided corporate governance disclosures 
with this report in line with the uk corporate governance code 2010 the code
principal activities
abcam is a producer and distributor of highquality researchgrade antibodies and associated protein research tools antibodies and 
associated protein research products are essential tools for life scientists enabling them to analyse components of living cells at the 
molecular level 
the group sells through the internet to customers across the world and now has an online catalogue of products sourced from over 
300 of the world’s leading manufacturers academic laboratories and institutes and the group also has its own production facilities 
the catalogue includes a growing range of nonprimary antibody products such as proteins peptides lysates immunoassays and 
other kits products are available for lifescience research and are distributed to academic and commercial users a highly developed 
ecommerce platform which includes regional websites for the chinese and japanese markets allows customers to access uptodate 
and detailed technical product data sheets
the subsidiary undertakings principally affecting the profits or net assets of the group in the year are listed in note 19 to the 
financial statements 
business review
the information that fulfils the requirements of the companies act for a business review to be included within the directors’ report 
can be found on pages 8 to 21 and is deemed to be incorporated in this report by this reference
information about the use of financial instruments by the company and its subsidiaries is given in note 22 to the financial statements 
details of significant events since the balance sheet date are contained in note 34 to the financial statements
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 
formally reviews the group’s risk register twice a year
like every business the group faces risks in the undertaking of its daytoday operations and in pursuit of its longerterm objectives 
further information on those risks and how they are managed by the group is set out on the following pages
further additional information on the group’s financial risk management strategy can be found in note 25 to the financial statements
directors’ report 26 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
issue risk mitigation
government 
funding
over 80 of abcam’s sales are funded by public 
money mainly through research grants any reduction 
in grant funding by central governments to address 
fiscal deficits is likely to have some impact on the 
level of demand for abcam’s products
one of abcam’s key longterm strategic objectives is to 
continue to expand its geographic diversity particularly 
in markets where government funding is increasing 
such as china
in addition abcam’s products are used as research 
tool consumables within laboratories so its sales are 
likely to be more resilient when budgets are cut than 
equipment manufacturers for example whose 
customers may be more unlikely to obtain approval 
for large capital investment projects
competition 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
supplier 
relationships
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 300 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 2011 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 facilities currently contribute 
approximately 17 of total group revenue
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
in addition abcam has no single product dependency 
for example its biggest selling product accounts for 
less than 1 of group revenues meaning that any 
infringement actions are likely to have a minimal 
impact on sales
international trade 
regulation
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 
directors’ report continued
principal risks and uncertainties continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
27
issue risk mitigation
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 group 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 group 
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 groupwide meetings weekly office 
meetings and regular staff committee meetings 
there are also share ownership schemes and 
profit share arrangements with rewards based 
on seniority within the business
abcam also looks to create a supportive 
working environment employees are provided 
with significant opportunities for learning and 
development and are encouraged to provide 
feedback on this via an annual staff survey 
distributor 
relationships
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 therefore 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 we sell directly to subdealers distributor 
sales amounted to around 10 of total sales in 
the 2011 financial year and no single distributor 
accounted for more than 3 of total sales
product 
defensibility
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 dedicates resource 
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 group to exploit the commercialisation 
of such technologies if they appear
financial the group has significant operations outside the uk 
and as such is exposed 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 to pay for outgoings in those 
currencies in particular the us dollar 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 28 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
dividends
as detailed in the chairman’s review the directors recommend a final dividend of 3800 pence 2010 2922 pence per ordinary 
share to be paid on 25 november 2011 to shareholders on the register on 4 november 2011 together with the interim dividend 
of 1450 pence per share paid on 15 april 2011 this makes a combined dividend for the year of 5250 pence 2010 4006 pence 
  to aid comparison the prior year dividends on each 1 pence ordinary share have been restated as the equivalent dividend upon each 02 pence ordinary share 
to take account of the five for one share subdivision which took effect on 15 november 2010
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 26 and 27 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 directors are not aware of any agreements between holders 
of the company’s shares that may result in restrictions on the transfer of securities or on voting rights
details of employee share schemes are set out in note 32 the voting rights in relation to the shares held by the abcam employee 
share benefit trust are exercised by the trustees 
the subdivision of each 1 pence ordinary share into five new ordinary shares of 02 pence each was approved by shareholders at 
the company’s agm in november 2010 and became effective on 15 november 2010 the subdivision was proposed by the board 
with the objective of improving 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
appointment and authority of directors
with regard to the appointment and replacement of directors the company is governed by its 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 code wherever possible the articles themselves may be amended by special resolution of the shareholders the powers of directors 
are described in the main board terms of reference copies of which are available on request and the corporate governance statement 
on pages 32 to 38
change of control
all of abcam’s equitybased plans contain provisions relating to a change of control under the longterm incentive plan ltip outstanding 
awards would normally be released on a change of control subject to satisfaction of any performance conditions at that time in addition 
depending on the achievement of performance conditions other sharebased payment arrangements may vest on change of control 
but this is subject to the approval and exercise of the discretion of the remuneration committee
the company is not party to any agreements which take effect alter or terminate upon a change of control of the company following 
a takeover bid there are no agreements between the company and its directors or employees providing for compensation for loss 
of office or employment whether through resignation purported redundancy or otherwise that occurs because of a takeover bid
directors
the directors who served throughout the year were as follows
mike redmond 
jonathan milner 
jeff liffe 
jim warwick 
tim dye 
peter keen 
tony kouzarides 
mark webster
brief biographical descriptions of the directors are set out on pages 22 and 23
two directors will be retiring and offering themselves for reelection at the agm to be held in october 2011
  tony kouzarides who has been a nonexecutive director for over nine years and retires in line with the principles set out in the code and
  jim warwick who last stood for reelection in 2008 and retires by rotation as required by the company’s articles of association
directors’ report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
29
directors continued
tim dye and mark webster will be retiring at the conclusion of this year’s agm as discussed in the chairman’s report on pages 6 and 7
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 offering themselves for reelection 
at this year’s agm
directors’ interests
the directors who held office at 30 june 2011 had the following interests in the ordinary shares of the company
          02 pence  02 pence 
          ordinary  ordinary 
          shares on  shares on 
          30 june  30 june 
          2011  2010
mike redmond         75000  75000
jonathan milner        28505657 28695155
jeff liffe          16002  2500
jim warwick         2933802  2900300
peter keen         169125  169125
mark webster         —  —
tony kouzarides         401220  401220
tim dye          12500  12500
  to aid comparison the number of 1 pence ordinary shares held on 30 june 2010 has been restated as the equivalent number of 02 pence ordinary shares to take 
account of the five for one share subdivision which took effect on 15 november 2010
there have been no changes in the directors’ interests in shares of the company between 30 june 2011 and 12 september 2011
directors’ share options
details of directors’ sharebased options and awards and shares conditionally awarded through the share incentive plan are provided 
in the directors’ remuneration report on pages 39 to 48
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 these remain in force at the date of this report
supplier payment policy
the group’s policy is to settle terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction ensure that suppliers 
are made aware of the terms of payment and abide by the terms of payment provided that the goods or services have been supplied 
in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions trade creditors of the group at 30 june 2011 were equivalent to 37 days 
purchases 2010 29 days based on the average daily amount invoiced by suppliers during the year
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 split between each of the group’s offices the donations are allocated by a committee of staff volunteers 
working within guidelines set down by the directors included in the figures below is an additional oneoff donation of £10000 to the 
japanese earthquake appeal and the board wishes to thank its japanese employees who have continued to work with spirit and 
dedication to ensure abcam’s service to its customers has been maintained despite the adverse conditions they faced
the group made no political donations during the year 2010 £nil and made charitable donations of £35825 2010 £15401 
principally to children’s and local charities serving the communities in which the group operates  30 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
substantial shareholdings
on 26 august 2011 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 29
           number  percentage 
           of ordinary  of issued 
           shares held  share capital
blackrock investment management        14973531 824
baillie gifford          14119678 777
standard life investments         12665412 697
william blair  company         11334925 624
kames capital previously aegon asset management       10112963 556
acquisition of the company’s own shares
at the end of the year the directors had authority under the shareholders’ resolutions of 1 november 2010 to purchase through 
the market 17950000 of the company’s ordinary shares provided that
i  the amount paid for each share exclusive of expenses shall not be more than the higher of 1 5 above the average market 
value for the five business days before the date on which the contract for the purchase is made and 2 an amount equal to the 
higher of the price of the last independent trade and current independent bid as derived from the aim appendix to the daily official 
list of the london stock exchange or less than 1 pence per share and
ii  the authority expires at the conclusion of the agm of the company to be held on 21 october 2011 
no shares were purchased under the above authority during the year under review 
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 on matters affecting 
them as employees and on the various factors affecting the performance of the group this is achieved through regular formal and 
informal meetings and weekly enewsletters distributed by each of the regional offices employee representatives are consulted regularly 
on a wide range of matters affecting their current and future interests 
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 highly qualified 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
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 
directors’ report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
31
health and safety and environment continued
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 been 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 business review on pages 8 to 21 notes 21 24 and 25 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
auditor
each of the directors of the company at the date on which this report was approved confirms that 
  so far as the director is aware there is no relevant audit information of which the company’s auditor is unaware and
  the director 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 auditor is 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
deloitte llp has expressed its willingness to continue in office as auditor and a resolution to reappoint them will be proposed at the 
forthcoming agm
approved by the board and signed on its behalf by
mike redmond
chairman
12 september 2011 32 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
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 therefore although not required to do so by the aim listing rules the directors have provided corporate 
governance disclosures with this report in line with guidance contained within the code
directors
board effectiveness
the board’s role is to provide entrepreneurial leadership of the company within a framework of prudent and effective controls which 
enables risk to be assessed and managed 
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 has a policy which is reviewed at least annually 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 
the board delegates daytoday responsibility for managing the group to the executive management team emt and has a number 
of other committees details of which are set out on the following pages
matters which the board considers are suitable for delegation to a board committee are contained within each committee’s terms 
of reference which are available on the company’s investor relations website wwwabcamplccom
board meeting attendance
the table below shows directors’ attendance at scheduled board meetings or conference calls and ad hoc meetings
     
 scheduled board meetings  ad hoc meetings
         meetings total available meetings total available  
         attended meetings  attended  meetings 
mike redmond        11 12 6 6
jonathan milner        12 12 6 6
jeff liffe         12 12 6 6
jim warwick        12 12 6 6
tim dye         12 12 5 6
peter keen        12 12 6 6
tony kouzarides         11 12 5 6
mark webster        11 12 5 6
corporate governance statement abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
33
directors continued
chairman and chief executive
the roles of chairman and chief executive officer are vested in separate individuals each with clear allocation of accountability 
and responsibility 
the main responsibilities of the chairman include
  leadership of the board and creating the conditions for overall board and individual director effectiveness and a constructive 
relationship with good communications between the executive and nonexecutive directors
  ensuring that the board as a whole plays a full and constructive part in the development of strategy and overall commercial objectives
  ensuring that there is effective communication with shareholders
  promoting the highest standards of integrity probity and corporate governance throughout the company particularly at board level and
  ensuring that the performance of the board as a whole its committees and individual directors is formally and rigorously evaluated 
at least once a year
the main responsibilities of the chief executive officer include
  proposing and developing the company’s longterm strategy and overall commercial objectives to ensure the company’s position 
remains differentiated in conjunction with the emt
  ensuring initiatives for longterm growth are appropriately championed and resourced within the company in the short term
  managing the emt 
  leading the communication programme with shareholders and analysts and
  fostering good relationships with key stakeholders
executive management team
the emt is responsible for developing and implementing the strategy approved by the board in particular the emt is responsible for 
ensuring that the group’s budget and forecasts are properly prepared that targets are met and for generally managing and developing the 
business within the overall budget variations from the budget and changes in strategy require approval from the main board of the group 
the emt which meets on a weekly basis comprises the chief executive officer the chief financial officer the chief operating officer 
the chief technology officer the scientific director the commercial director and the head of corporate services meetings are attended 
by other senior operational personnel as appropriate 
board balance and independence
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 pages 22 and 23
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 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 be amongst other things relevant in determining whether a  
nonexecutive director is independent the board has determined that it does not believe that the holding of share options by 
tony kouzarides detracts from his independent status tony kouzarides is therefore 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 judgement and behaviour in all board matters the board considers mike redmond peter keen and tim dye to be 
independent within the meaning of the code 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 
who provides a communication channel between the chairman and the nonexecutive directors and is available to discuss matters 
with shareholders if required
all directors have completed conflicts of interest questionnaires and any planned changes in their directorships outside the group 
are notified to the board none of the relationships declared are considered to be of a material nature to abcam’s business and 
none are therefore deemed to impact on the independence of the directors the conflicts register is reviewed at board meetings on 
alternate months
the beneficial interests of the directors in the share capital of the company are set out in the directors’ report in the opinion of the 
board these shareholdings do not detract from the nonexecutive directors’ independent status 34 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors continued
board balance and independence continued
the board has considered the overall balance between executive and nonexecutive directors and believes that 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 it is 
intended that the board reflects a balance between financial sector specific and general business skills with a highly experienced team 
leading the business in both executive and nonexecutive roles following a review of board membership during the year it was identified 
that the company would benefit from experience at the nonexecutive director level of the lifescience tools market and businesses with 
a strong ecommerce component this has led to the forthcoming appointment of tony martin as detailed in the chairman’s review and 
in the nomination committee report below and the planned recruitment of a further director with broad ecommerce experience
information and professional development
before each meeting the board is provided with information concerning the state of the business and its performance in a timely 
manner in a form and of a quality appropriate to enable it to discharge its duties 
nonexecutive directors have the opportunity to influence agendas for board discussions and to ensure the amount of time spent 
reviewing strategic and operational issues is appropriately balanced in the event that directors are unable to attend a meeting or a 
conference call they receive and read the papers for consideration at that meeting and have the opportunity to relay their comments 
and if necessary to follow up with the chairman or the chief executive officer after the meeting 
directors receive appropriate induction on joining the board tailored to their specific requirements the aim of which is to introduce 
them to key executives across the business and to enhance their knowledge and understanding of the group and its activities 
the group has a commitment to training and all directors executive or nonexecutive are encouraged to attend suitable training 
courses at the group’s expense regular updates on corporate governance are also provided to the board by the group’s advisors
performance evaluation
the board undertakes a regular evaluation of its own performance this review involves detailed interviews with each director and covers 
the functioning of the board as a whole the operation of each of the committees succession planning and process and practicalities
the review undertaken in 2011 concluded that the board and its individual members continues to perform effectively in an 
environment where there is constructive challenge from the nonexecutive directors and operates within a framework of sound 
governance and practices which wherever it is reasonably practicable are consistent with the principles set out in the code
accountability and audit
financial reporting
the board is responsible for reviewing and approving the annual report and accounts and the interim financial information and for 
ensuring they present a balanced assessment of the group’s position drafts of these reports are provided to the board in a timely manner 
and directors’ feedback is discussed and incorporated where appropriate prior to publication
internal control
the board acknowledges its responsibility for safeguarding the shareholders’ investment and the group’s assets and has applied 
principle c2 of the code by establishing a continuous process for identifying evaluating and managing the significant risks the group 
faces the board regularly reviews the process which has been in place from the start of the year to the date of approval of this report 
and which is in accordance with revised guidance on internal control published in october 2005 the turnbull guidance 
the board has overall responsibility for ensuring the group maintains an adequate system of internal control and risk management 
and for reviewing its effectiveness whilst the implementation of internal control systems is the responsibility of management the group 
has implemented an internal control system designed to help ensure
  the effective and efficient operation of the group by enabling management to respond appropriately to significant risks to achieving 
the group’s business objectives
  the safeguarding of assets from inappropriate use or from loss and fraud and ensuring that liabilities are identified and managed
  the quality of internal and external reporting
  compliance with applicable laws and regulations and with internal policies on the conduct of the group’s business and
  the ability to recover in a timely manner from the effects of disasters or major accidents which originate outside the group’s direct control
such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risks inherent in a fastmoving business and can therefore provide 
only reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss
corporate governance statement continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
35
accountability and audit continued
internal control continued
in compliance with provision c21 of the code the board regularly reviews the effectiveness of the group’s system of internal control 
the board’s monitoring covers all controls including financial operational and compliance controls and risk management it is based 
principally on reviewing reports from management to consider whether significant risks are identified evaluated managed and controlled 
and whether any significant weaknesses are promptly remedied and indicate a need for more extensive monitoring the board has also 
performed a specific assessment for the purpose of the annual report this assessment considers all significant aspects of internal control 
arising during the period covered by this report the audit committee assists the board in discharging its review responsibilities 
during the course of its review of the system of internal control the board has not identified nor been advised of any failings 
or weaknesses which it has determined to be significant 
whilst the group does not currently have a separate internal audit function an internal controls committee consisting of key members 
of the finance team meets on a monthly basis with other operational managers attending where necessary a rolling internal audit of key 
processes has been implemented and is carried out by members of the finance team the results are reviewed by the internal controls 
committee and the audit committee and the necessary actions taken to rectify any control deficiencies identified 
the audit committee reviews the need for a separate 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 are currently 
sufficient such that an internal audit function continues to be neither necessary nor cost effective at this time the directors have 
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
whistleblowing procedures
the group operates a whistleblowing policy which provides for all employees to raise concerns about any unethical business practices 
fraud misconduct or wrongdoing to senior management in strict confidence they can do so without fear of recrimination and the 
audit committee receives any such confidential reports there were no whistleblowing reports throughout 201011 and none up to 
the date of this report
relations with shareholders
dialogue with institutional 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
where appropriate the company also consults with major shareholders on significant issues
members of the board develop an understanding of the views of major shareholders through any direct contact that may be initiated 
by shareholders or through analysts’ and brokers’ briefings the board also receives feedback from the group’s broker and financial 
pr advisor who in turn obtain feedback from analysts and brokers following investor roadshows
constructive use of the agm
the board actively encourages participation at the agm which is the principal forum for dialogue with private shareholders 
a presentation is made outlining recent developments in the business and an open questionandanswer session follows to 
enable shareholders to ask questions about the business in general
the audit committee
committee members        meetings attended  total available meetings
peter keen chairman        2  2
mike redmond         2  2
mark webster         2  2
summary of the role of the audit committee
the audit committee is appointed by the board from the nonexecutive directors of the company the audit committee’s terms 
of reference include all matters indicated by the disclosure and transparency rule 71 and the code and are available from the 
company’s investor relations website wwwabcamplccom the terms of reference are considered annually by the audit committee 
and are then referred to the board for approval 36 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
the audit committee continued
summary of the role of the audit committee continued
the committee has responsibility for the following matters 
  monitoring the integrity of the financial statements of the group and any formal announcements relating to the group’s financial 
performance and reviewing significant financial reporting judgements contained therein before they are submitted to the board 
for final approval
  reviewing the effectiveness of the group’s financial reporting and the internal control and risk management policies and systems
  reviewing annually the need for an internal audit function
  making recommendations to the board for a resolution to be put to shareholders for their approval in general meeting on the 
appointment of the external auditor and the approval of the remuneration and terms of engagement of the external auditor
  reviewing and monitoring the external auditor’s independence and objectivity and the effectiveness of the audit process taking into 
consideration relevant uk professional and regulatory requirements 
  developing and implementing a policy on the engagement of the external auditor to supply nonaudit services taking into account 
relevant guidance regarding the provision of nonaudit services by the external audit firm and
  reviewing the arrangements by which staff may in confidence raise concerns about possible improprieties
the audit committee is required to report its findings to the board identifying any matters on which it considers that action 
or improvement is needed and make recommendations on the steps to be taken
composition of the audit committee
the members of the audit committee are shown on page 35 membership of the committee is reviewed by the chairman of the 
committee and the group chairman at regular intervals and they recommend new appointments to the nominations committee 
for onward recommendation to the board 
the audit committee is required to include one financially qualified member as recognised by the consultative committee of 
accountancy bodies currently the audit committee chairman peter keen fulfils this requirement peter is deemed by the board 
to have recent and relevant financial experience as he is a qualified chartered accountant with more than 25 years’ experience in the 
financing and management of biotechnology companies he is currently chairman of oval medical technologies ltd and exosect limited 
and a nonexecutive director of ark therapeutics group plc and the biotech growth trust plc
all audit committee members are expected to be financially literate the board expects the audit committee members to have 
an understanding of
  the principles of contents of and developments in financial reporting including the applicable accounting standards 
and statements of recommended practice
  key aspects of the group’s operations including corporate policies group financing products and systems of internal control
  matters that influence or distort the presentation of accounts and key figures
  the principles of and developments in company law sectorspecific laws and other relevant corporate legislation
  the role of internal and external auditing and risk management
  the regulatory framework for the group’s businesses and 
  environmental and social responsibility best reporting practices
meetings
the audit committee is required to meet two times per year and has an agenda linked to events in the group’s financial calendar 
the agenda is predominantly cyclical and is therefore approved by the audit committee chairman on behalf of his fellow members 
each audit committee member has the right to require reports on matters of interest in addition to the cyclical items during the 
period under review the committee has met twice on a formal basis and a number of times informally 
the chief executive officer the chief financial officer the chief operations officer the financial controller and senior representatives 
of the external auditor attend audit committee meetings by invitation in order to ensure that all the information required by the audit 
committee for it to operate effectively is available representatives of the group’s external auditor meet with the audit committee at least 
twice a year without any executive directors or other company management being present 
corporate governance statement continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
37
the audit committee continued
overview of the actions taken by the audit committee to discharge its duties
during the year under review the audit committee has
  reviewed the june 2010 report and financial statements and the december 2010 halfyearly financial report as part of this review 
the committee received a report from the external auditor on their audit of the annual report and financial statements and review of the 
halfyearly financial report
  reviewed the effectiveness of the group’s internal controls and disclosures made in the annual report and financial statements 
on this matter
  reviewed and agreed the scope of the audit work to be undertaken by the auditor
  agreed the fees to be paid to the external auditor for their audit of the june 2010 financial statements and december halfyearly report
  considered a report from the internal controls committee on their review of the effectiveness of controls across the group 
and received a report on management action taken in response to the recommendations arising from this report and
  reviewed its own effectiveness
external auditor
the audit committee is responsible for the development implementation and monitoring of the group’s policy on external audit
deloitte llp has been the group’s auditor since it listed on the london stock exchange in 2005 the external auditor is required 
to rotate the audit partner responsible for the group and subsidiary audits every fifth year end and the current lead audit partner has 
been in place since 2 november 2009 the audit committee considers that the relationship with the external auditor is working well 
and remains satisfied with their effectiveness accordingly the audit committee has not considered it necessary to date to require 
the firm to tender for the audit work
there are no contractual obligations restricting the group’s choice of external auditor the audit committee also keeps under review 
the value for money of the audit the committee has discussed with the external auditor the firm’s independence and has received 
and reviewed written disclosures from the external auditor as required by the auditing practices board’s international standard on 
auditing isa uk and ireland 260 “communication of audit matters to those charged with governance” through this process 
the committee has concluded that the auditor is independent
the group’s regular tax compliance work is carried out by deloitte and tax advisory work is carried out by the auditor only in 
cases where that firm is best suited to perform the work in a costeffective manner given their familiarity with the group’s business 
a breakdown of fees paid to the auditor can be found in note 9 to the financial statements 
following the above the audit committee has recommended to the board that deloitte llp is reappointed at the forthcoming agm 
in october 2011
the nomination committee
committee members        meetings attended total available meetings
tim dye chairman         2  2
peter keen         2  2
tony kouzarides         2  2
mike redmond         2  2
the nomination committee is responsible for the following matters
  reviewing the size composition and balance including the skills knowledge and experience of the board
  reviewing succession planning for both directors and the senior management team
  leading the process for board appointments and making recommendations to the board in relation to new appointments 
of executive and nonexecutive directors
  considering the roles and capabilities required for each new appointment based on an evaluation of the skills and experience 
of the existing directors
  ensuring on appointment that a candidate has sufficient time to undertake the role and reviewing annually the time needed 
to fulfil the roles of chairman of the company senior independent director and nonexecutive director to ensure all members 
of the board have devoted sufficient time to fulfil their duties 38 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
the nomination committee continued
  considering any information received from the directors regarding that director’s conflicts or potential conflicts of interest with 
the company and making recommendations to the board in respect thereof and
  keeping up to date with and being fully informed about strategic issues and commercial changes affecting the company 
and the market in which it operates
the terms of reference of the committee can be found on the company’s investor relations website wwwabcamplccom the terms 
of appointment of all nonexecutive directors will be available for inspection at the forthcoming agm in october 2011
succession planning
a detailed exercise was carried out during the year to review the succession plans for each of the executive directors emt members 
and key individuals reporting into them an assessment was made of the impact on the business if particular roles were to become 
vacant and plans drawn up as to how these should be filled on both short and longterm bases as appropriate
reelection of directors
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 nonexecutive directors who have served longer than nine years are subject to annual reelection 
notwithstanding the above rules a minimum of onethird of the directors must retire by rotation each year
the names of directors submitted for reelection at this year’s agm are provided in the directors’ report on page 28 and their 
biographical details are shown on pages 22 and 23
the company’s detailed policies with regards to reelection of directors are set out within its articles of association which are available 
for download from the company’s investor relations website wwwabcamplccom
recruitment of new board members
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
candidates are selected on merit against objective criteria with consideration given to the amount of time the appointee will have 
available to devote to the job
during the year a review of the balance of skills and experience within the current board structure was undertaken the company 
has grown significantly and rapidly over the 13 years since its inception and the existing directors have provided ample support 
for these achievements as the company now enters its next phase of growth it was concluded that it is now important to increase 
the knowledge base of the board by appointing two new nonexecutive directors with specific knowledge and experience of the 
lifesciences research tools sector and ecommerce trading respectively
for the former role dr tony martin was known to members of the committee so no external search firm was deemed necessary and 
his appointment was recommended to the board 
tony holds a phd in immunology and has more than 20 years’ experience in providing lifescience and medical diagnostic companies 
counsel on a range of strategic management and funding matters he is the founder and managing partner of tma consultants an 
organisation that specialises in providing business planning and interim management for biotechnology companies most recently he 
served as chairman of molecular insight pharmaceuticals inc a nasdaq quoted biopharm company specialising in new radiotherapies 
for heart disease and cancer and is currently chairman of sphere medical holding plc wound solutions ltd phico therapeutics ltd 
and 1voice1vision ltd after rigorous interviewing and discussion amongst board members tony will join the board later this month 
and will stand for election by shareholders at this year’s agm
the recruitment process for the ecommerce role is underway and an external search firm has been engaged to seek and introduce 
suitable candidates
the remuneration committee
a description of the composition responsibilities and operation of the remuneration committee is set out in the directors’ 
remuneration report on pages 39 to 48 
corporate governance statement continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
39
this report has been prepared in accordance with schedule 8 to the accounting regulations under the companies act 2006 
although not required by the aim listing rules to provide all the information detailed below the directors have chosen to apply 
the principles relating to directors’ remuneration disclosures in the code as required by the act a resolution to approve the report 
will be proposed at the agm of the company at which the financial statements will be approved
the act requires the auditor to report to the company’s members on certain parts of the directors’ remuneration report and to state 
whether in their opinion those parts of the report have been properly prepared in accordance with the accounting regulations the report 
has therefore been divided into separate sections for audited and unaudited information 
unaudited information
remuneration committee
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 none of the committee have any personal financial interest other than as shareholders conflicts of interests of a material 
nature to abcam’s business arising from crossdirectorships or daytoday involvement in running the business
committee members        meetings attended total available meetings
peter keen chairman        4  4
tim dye          3  4
mike redmond         4  4
the committee is responsible for the following matters
  setting the individual remuneration packages for the chairman and the executive directors within the overall remuneration policy 
determined by the board
  determining targets for any performancerelated pay schemes operated by the company and to ask the board when appropriate 
to seek shareholder approval for any longterm incentive arrangements
  ensuring that total individual remuneration packages are sufficient to attract retain and motivate executive directors and that 
performancerelated elements of remuneration form a significant proportion of the total remuneration package and are designed 
to align their interests with those of shareholders
  ensuring that contractual terms on termination are fair to the individual and the company and do not have the effect of rewarding 
poor performance
  obtaining reviewing and having regard to the conditions of service and remuneration levels of competitor companies
  being aware of and advising on any major changes in employee benefit structures throughout the group and
  ensuring that all relevant statutory andor regulatory provisions regarding disclosure of remuneration including pensions are fulfilled
the remuneration of the nonexecutive directors is a matter for the chairman and the executive directors
the terms of reference of the committee are available for inspection on the company’s investor relations website wwwabcamplccom
during the year the committee met four times with the following issues arising
  review of the market competitiveness of the remuneration policy and the remuneration arrangements for the executive directors
  review of salary levels for the executive directors
  agreement of the bonus payable for the 200910 period
  review of how the annual bonus plan will operate in 201112
  agreement of the individual longterm incentive plan awards for the 201112 financial period
  review of the performance measures and targets to apply these awards
  review of the performance of each outstanding longterm incentive award
  approval of the 200910 remuneration report and
  review of current market developments regarding alternative incentive designs
directors’ remuneration report 40 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
unaudited information continued
remuneration committee continued
independent consultants were retained in the prior year to advise on remuneration policy and to benchmark the executive directors’ 
remuneration against that of a comparator group of companies
their recommendations on salary and bonus arrangements were considered and following consultation with major shareholders 
were implemented with effect from 1 july 2010 awards were also made to members of the senior management including the 
executive directors under the company’s longterm incentive plan ltip and other equitybased incentive schemes as detailed below
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
remuneration policy for the executive directors
the committee aims to set levels of remuneration for executive directors that are sufficient to attract retain and motivate executive 
directors of the calibre required to deliver the business strategy individual remuneration packages are structured to align rewards 
with the performance of the company and the interests of the shareholders and that are appropriate for the size and complexity 
of the group no director is involved in deciding his own remuneration the main principles are to
  ensure that salaries are set at a market competitive level by benchmarking against appropriate external comparators
  support a high performance culture by rewarding performance with commensurate reward
  maintain an appropriate balance of fixed and performancerelated pay which delivers over the short medium and longerterm 
with the balance becoming more longterm and more highly performancerelated with seniority
  align longterm rewards with shareholders by taking account of measures that reflect shareholder interests and
  ensure that the overall package reflects market practice and takes account of levels of remuneration elsewhere in the group
the policy is that a substantial proportion of the package should be performancerelated the following chart illustrates the proportion 
of the remuneration package provided in 201011 comprising fixed and variable elements of remuneration
 
 ontarget bonus was at 525 of bonusable salary
  the value of the ltip is based on the value of the award made in 201011 and assumes that the market value of the shares will be equal on the date of release to the 
value on the date of award the ontarget calculation assumes that 50 of the ltips will be released based on satisfaction of the relevant performance conditions 
directors’ remuneration report continued
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
stretch
ontarget
salaryother fixed benefits bonus ltip
stretch
ontarget
stretch
ontarget
jim warwick
jeff liffe
jonathan milner
percentage  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
41
unaudited information continued
remuneration policy for the executive directors continued
the following table provides a summary of the key elements of the remuneration package
element purpose operation
salary to provide competitive fixed remuneration that will 
attract and retain key employees and reflect their 
experience and position in the company
reviewed every twelve months
benchmarked against appropriate 
market comparators
linked to individual performance contribution 
and current market conditions
annual bonus to incentivise achievement of annual objectives 
which support both the short and longterm strategy 
of the company
maximum bonus potential is set having considered 
market levels
majority of the bonus is based on key elements of 
the company’s financial performance the balance 
being based on individual targets
equitybased 
incentives
to incentivise executives to achieve superior returns 
to shareholders over a threeyear period 
to retain key individuals and align interests 
with shareholders
share awards are made annually to senior 
executives and other senior management and 
are based on a combination of tsr and eps 
targets over a threeyear period
benefits to provide competitive benefits that will attract and 
retain key employees and reflect their experience 
and position in the company
a flexible benefitssalary sacrifice scheme is in 
place allowing all employees including executive 
directors to choose a variety of benefits to suit 
individual needs including pension contributions 
and various insurances
the company recognises that executive directors may be invited to become nonexecutive directors of other companies and that this 
can help broaden the skills and experience of a director subject to confirmation that such appointments will not impair the directors’ 
ability to perform his duties executive directors are normally permitted to accept external appointments with the prior approval of the 
board and may retain the fees for such appointments
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 taking into account individual performance market conditions and the level of increases applicable to other employees 
in the company 
salaries are benchmarked against comparable roles in companies of a similar market capitalisation and against similar roles in 
companies within the industry sector 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 this resulted in a realignment of executives’ salary levels and having regard to current market conditions 
it has been agreed that salaries for 201112 will remain unchanged however as detailed below the maximum bonus potential has 
been increased
the salaries for the executive directors for the financial years of 201112 and 201011 are as follows
           201112 201011 
           £000 £000 
jonathan milner          310 310
jeff liffe           220 220
jim warwick          232 232
  for the 201011 and 201112 years jonathan milner has waived a £100000 increase in salary and has done so again for 201112 his base salary will therefore remain 
at £210000 in 201112 and as in 201011 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 october 2011  42 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
unaudited information continued
annual bonus 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 the committee establishes the objectives that must 
be met for each financial year the maximum bonus and the proportion paid for ontarget performance are considered in the light 
of market practice for companies of a similar size and industry sector 
for the 201011 year the maximum bonus was 100 of salary with 525 of salary payable for ontarget performance targets were 
based on both corporate and individual objectives 85 of the bonus opportunity was based on corporate performance as measured 
by a target profit figure and 15 on achievement of individual strategic objectives no payment was due under the profitbased bonus 
if profit was less than 95 of target and the maximum payment was due at 115 of target due to continuing strong performance 
and progress in the year the bonus for 201011 exceeded ontarget levels representing 627 of salary
following an independent review and benchmarking exercise the executive directors’ salaries were increased in 201011 to 
lower quartile levels against a comparator group having regard to current market conditions it has been agreed that salary levels 
in 201112 will remain unchanged and that performance will be incentivised by increasing the bonus potential from 100 to 110 
of salary the full bonus would be payable on the achievement of stretching eps targets for 773 of the award and personal targets 
for 227 of the award including the successful execution of strategic initiatives no payment will be due under the epsbased bonus 
if eps is less than 95 of target and the maximum payment will be due at 110 of target the total ontarget bonus will be increased 
to 575 of basic salary
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 performance 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 2011 then all performance 
conditions in relation to the options would have been met details of these options are set out in note 32 to the financial statements
directors’ remuneration report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
43
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 less 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 and there is no intention to grant saye 
options in 201112
longterm incentive plan
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 201011 took the form of conditional share awards 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 75th percentile of the comparator group all of the tsr awards will vest and
  where the company’s tsr is between the 50th and the 75th 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 75th percentile
the 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
the company regularly monitors its performance against these conditions
the following table illustrates the percentage of tsr and eps awards which would have vested if the awards had crystallised 
as at 30 june 2011
 tsr awards  eps awards
      no 
      companies position    average  
year of      in comparator of 75
th
 median abcam  tsr award  eps growth eps award 
award      group percentile position position  vesting per annum  vesting
2008      21 525 1050 6 900 577 100
2009      15 375 750 4 953 378 100
2010      16 400 800 12 nil 229 100 44 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
unaudited information continued
equitybased incentives continued
longterm incentive plan continued
the eps condition continued
there are no companies quoted in the uk which undertake similar activities to abcam with a similar customer base size and growth 
profile and so even with external assistance it has become more difficult over time to construct an appropriate comparator group 
following discussion with external advisors the committee believes that given abcam’s continued growth in the last few years and 
market capitalisation it would now be more appropriate to use the ftse 250 as the comparator group following dialogue with the 
company’s major shareholders the committee will be using this new comparator group for the tsr awards in 201112
for the 201112 ltip awards the basis for assessment of tsr performance against the new comparator group will remain the same 
and the basis of vesting for the eps awards will also remain unchanged including the specific targets of 15 and 20 which the 
committee believes have become even more challenging when compared to prior years
sip
abcam operates an hmrcapproved sip for all uk employees under the sip awards are made as follows
free 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 share awards
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 201011 options granted under the csop to the senior management of the company including 
the executive directors 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 201112
share options granted under the csop to other employees of the group excluding executive directors vest on the same basis 
as those under the plan being outperformance of the ftse aim allshare index
pension contributions and other benefits
the company operates a flexible benefits scheme for all ukbased employees for the executive directors the company contributes 
12 of basic salary into this scheme the employee can choose how to spend this contribution amongst the specific benefits available 
and also has the option to sacrifice an element of basic pay to make additional pension contributions into the company’s money purchase 
pension scheme or to purchase other benefits as a result of the salary sacrificed and used to purchase additional pension contributions 
the company’s national insurance liability is reduced and the benefit of this reduction is added as an additional contribution to each employee’s 
pension fund this amount is included within the employer’s pension contribution figures disclosed in the table of remuneration details 
on page 46
directors’ contracts
it is the company’s policy that executive directors should have contracts with an indefinite term providing for a maximum of six months’ 
notice however it may be necessary occasionally to offer longer notice periods to new directors all executive directors currently have 
contracts which are subject to six months’ notice by either party
the details of executive directors’ contracts are summarised below
            notice 
            period 
           date of contract months
executive
jonathan milner         10 june 2000  6
jeff liffe          6 november 2007  6
jim warwick         1 september 2001 6
in the event of early termination the directors’ contracts provide for statutory compensation payments 
directors’ remuneration report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
45
unaudited information continued
directors’ contracts continued
all nonexecutive directors including the chairman serve under letters of appointment and either party can terminate on one month’s 
written notice the details of nonexecutives’ contracts are summarised below
            notice 
            period 
           date of contract months
mike redmond         1 march 2009 1
tim dye          26 may 2006 1
peter keen         27 october 2005  1
tony kouzarides         24 july 2007  1
mark webster         10 july 2007 1
the remuneration of the nonexecutive directors is determined by the board within the limits set by the articles of association and 
is based on information on fees paid in similar companies and the skills and expected time commitment of the individual concerned 
neither the chairman nor the nonexecutive directors have any right to compensation on the early termination of their appointment
in addition to the basic fees additional fees for committee duties are paid to reflect the extra responsibilities attached to these roles 
since the company’s listing on the aim market in 2005 the nonexecutive directors do not participate in any of the group’s incentive 
or share schemes and are not eligible to join the pension scheme nor do they receive any other benefits the fees are reviewed in july 
of each year and fees for 201011 and 200910 are shown in the table below
           201011 200910 
           £ £
chairman          65625 62500
nonexecutive director basic fee        31500 30000
additional fee per annum
– chairman of audit committee         6000 6000
– chairman of remuneration or nomination committee      5000 5000
– member of any subcommittee        2500 2500
fees for 201112 will remain at the same level as for 201011
audited information
the following information has been audited by the company’s auditor deloitte llp as required by the companies act 2006
aggregate directors’ remuneration
the total amounts for directors’ remuneration were as follows
           2011 2010 
           £ £
emoluments          1070 1018
gains on exercise of share options        751 989
money purchase pension contributions        430 495
           2251 2502 46 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
audited information continued
directors’ emoluments
          employer’s   
       feebasic  benefits  performance  pension  total  total 
       salary
1
  in kind  payments  contributions
1
  2011 2010 
       £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
executive      
jonathan milner      87 2 194 176 459 468
jeff liffe       126 2 138 133 399 394
jim warwick      149 2 145 121 417 417
nonexecutive      
mike redmond      73 — — — 73 63
tim dye       39 — — — 39 38
peter keen      45 — — — 45 44
tony kouzarides      34 — — — 34 34
mark webster      34 — — — 34 31
       587 6 477 430 1500 1489
1
  as previously described 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 jeff liffe £220000 
and jim warwick £232000 for the 2011 financial year jonathan milner waived an increase in salary of £100000 2010 £25000 which would have taken his 
salary up to £310000 for the 2010 and 2011 financial years his bonus and benefits were based on £210000 and £310000 respectively
directors’ share options
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  2011 2010 
name of director        options  pence  pence  £  £
jonathan milner       — — — — 302583
jeff liffe        3000 624 39400 9948 —
        95000 624 39469 315676 —
        118000 624 39300 336273 —
        216000   661897 302583
jim warwick       33000 624 37063 88695 346012
peter keen       — — — — 340080
        249000   750592 988675 
  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
directors’ remuneration report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
47
audited information continued
directors’ share options continued
details of options over 02 pence ordinary shares in the company for directors who served during the year are as follows
      number of    number of   date 
      options   options  exercise  from 
      at 30 june    at 30 june  price  which 
name of director      2010  granted  exercised  2011 pence  exercisable  expiry date
tony kouzarides      200000 — — 200000 250  31 jan 06  29 sep 15
jeff liffe      448715 — 216000 232715 624  8 nov 10  7 nov 17
jonathan milner     230020 — — 230020 826 8 may 11  7 may 18
jim warwick     208010 — 33000 175010 624 8 nov 10  7 nov 17
      1086745 — 249000 837745
 the number of ltip awards as at 30 june 2010 has been rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took effect on 15 november 2010
  these options were granted under the abcam plc 2005 plan and were subject to the performance condition that the share price outperforms the ftse aim allshare 
index at the third anniversary of grant in each case this performance condition has been satisfied and all the options have now vested
there have been no variations to the terms and conditions or performance criteria for share options during the financial year
the market price of the ordinary shares at 30 june 2011 was 4193 pence and the range during the year was 2440 pence 
to 4285 pence
ltip awards 
details of ltip awards for directors who served during the year are as follows 
         number of    number of  
         awards    awards  
         at 30 june    at 30 june 
name of director         2010  awarded  vested  2011
jonathan milner        364265 88611 — 452876
jeff liffe         283745 75278 — 359023
jim warwick        313110 66003 — 379113
         961120 229892 — 1191012
 the number of ltip awards as at 30 june 2010 has been rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took effect on 15 november 2010
 the market price at the date of award for all awards made during the year was 390 pence
there have been no variations to the terms and conditions or performance criteria for the ltip schemes during the financial year
full details of the operation of the ltip including performance conditions are set out on pages 43 and 44 in the unaudited 
information contained within the directors’ remuneration report abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 48
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 are set out on page 44 in the unaudited information contained within the directors’ remuneration report
      share price at 
      date of purchase    matching   
      of partnership   free shares  partnership  shares  dividend  
      shares and  number conditionally  shares  conditionally  shares  number 
      award of  as at awarded  purchased  awarded  acquired  as at 
    date of  date of   of matching 30 june during the  during the  during the  during the  30 june 
executive director   award  release  shares pence  2010 period  period  period  period  2011
jonathan milner   7 nov 08  8 nov 11  924  3245 — — — — 3245
    27 nov 08  28 nov 11  970  3090 — — — — 3090
    8 dec 08  9 dec 11  950  30 — — — — 30
    29 apr 09  30 apr 12  1320  25 — — — — 25
    5 nov 09 6 nov 12 1870 1600 — — — — 1600
    9 nov 09 9 nov 12 1808 1655 — — — — 1655
    15 dec 09 15 dec 12 1998 60 — — — — 60
    26 apr 10 26 apr 13 2432 40 — — — — 40
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — 385 385 — 770
    02 dec 10 02 dec 13 3450 — 869 — — — 869
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — — — 75 75
    19 may 11 19 may 14 4018 — — — — 42 42
total       9745 869 385 385 117 11501
jim warwick   7 nov 08  8 nov 11  924  3245 — — — — 3245
    27 nov 08  28 nov 11  970  3090 — — — — 3090
    8 dec 08  9 dec 11  950  30 — — — — 30
    29 apr 09  30 apr 12  1320  25 — — — — 25
    5 nov 09 6 nov 12 1870 1600 — — — — 1600
    9 nov 09 9 nov 12 1808 1655 — — — — 1655
    15 dec 09 15 dec 12 1998 60 — — — — 60
    26 apr 10 26 apr 13 2432 40 — — — — 40
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — 385 385 — 770
    02 dec 10 02 dec 13 3450 — 869 — — — 869
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — — — 75 75
    19 may 11 19 may 14 4018 — — — — 42 42
total       9745 869 385 385 117 11501
jeff liffe     7 nov 08  8 nov 11  924  3245 — — — — 3245
    27 nov 08  28 nov 11  970  3090 — — — — 3090
    8 dec 08  9 dec 11  950  30 — — — — 30
    29 apr 09  30 apr 12  1320  25 — — — — 25
    5 nov 09 6 nov 12 1870 1600 — — — — 1600
    9 nov 09 9 nov 12 1808 1655 — — — — 1655
    15 dec 09 15 dec 12 1998 60 — — — — 60
    26 apr 10 26 apr 13 2432 40 — — — — 40
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — 385 385 — 770
    02 dec 10 02 dec 13 3450 — 869 — — — 869
    03 dec 10 03 dec 13 3900 — — — — 75 75
    19 may 11 19 may 14 4018 — — — — 42 42
total       9745 869 385 385 117 11501
 all share prices and numbers of shares as at 30 june 2010 have been restated for the impact of the five for one share subdivision which took effect in november 2010
the total market value of all equitybased incentives awarded to jeff iiffe under the ltip csop and sip in 201011 was equivalent 
to 120 of basic salary and for the remaining executive directors 100
directors’ remuneration report continued abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
49
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law 
and regulations 
company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year under that law the directors are required 
to prepare group financial statements in accordance with international financial reporting standards ifrss as adopted by the 
european union and article 4 of the ias regulation and have also chosen to prepare the parent company financial statements under 
ifrss as adopted by the european union under company law the directors must not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied 
that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period 
in preparing these financial statements the directors are required to
  properly select and apply accounting policies
  present information including accounting policies in a manner that provides relevant reliable comparable and 
understandable information
  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 and
  make an assessment of the company’s ability to continue as a going concern
the directors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s 
transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure 
that the financial statements comply with the companies act 2006 they are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities
the directors 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
directors’ responsibility statement
we confirm to the best of our knowledge
  the financial statements prepared in accordance with ifrss 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 directors’ report 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 liffe
chairman     chief financial officer
12 september 2011     12 september 2011
statement of directors’ responsibilities abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 50
we have audited the financial statements of abcam plc for the year ended 30 june 2011 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 35 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 auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone 
other than the company and the company’s members as a body for our audit work for this report or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditor
as explained more fully in the 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 and express an opinion on the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law and international standards on auditing uk and ireland those standards require us 
to comply with the auditing practices board’s 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 in addition we read all the financial and nonfinancial information in the 
annual report to identify material inconsistencies with the audited financial statements if we become aware of any apparent material 
misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the implications for our report
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion
  the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 30 june 2011 
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
opinion on other matter prescribed by the companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared 
is consistent with the financial statements
matters on which we are required to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the companies act 2006 requires us to report to you if in our opinion
  adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have not been received 
from branches not visited by us or
  the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns or
  certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made or
  we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit
independent auditor’s report
to the members of abcam plc abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
51
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 were the company a quoted company
although not required to do so the directors have voluntarily chosen to make a corporate governance statement detailing the extent 
of their compliance with uk corporate governance code we reviewed
  the directors’ statement contained within the directors’ report in relation to going concern 
  the part of the corporate governance statement relating to the company’s compliance with the nine provisions of the uk corporate 
governance code specified for our review and
  certain elements of the report to shareholders by the board on directors’ remuneration
david halstead senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of deloitte llp
chartered accountants and statutory auditor
cambridge uk
12 september 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 52
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000  £000
continuing operations
revenue          6  83272 71106
cost of sales           27239 23689
gross profit           56033 47417
administration and management expenses excluding sharebased payments charge    20104 17367
sharebased payments charge         32 985 702
total administration and management expenses        21089 18069
rd expenses excluding sharebased payments charge       3070 3577
sharebased payments charge         32  161 124
total rd expenses          3231 3701
operating profit           31713 25647
investment revenue         11  398 184
profit before tax          32111 25831
tax           13 8306 6609
profit for the year attributable to shareholders      8 29  23805 19222
earnings per share from continuing operations
basic           15  1323p 1076p
diluted           15  1298p 1051p
  in accordance with ias 33 eps for the comparative period has been adjusted retrospectively to account for the five for one share subdivision which took place on 
15 november 2010 
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
profit for the year          23805 19222
reserve movements on cash flow hedges         1263 677
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations      17 61
tax relating to components of other comprehensive income      2902 1689
other comprehensive income for the year        1622 1073
total comprehensive income for the year        25427 20295
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 30 june 2011
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
53
        sharebased  deferred   
    share share own translation payments 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 2010  360 12920 690 247 1806 445 1550 36584 53222
profit for the year   — — — — — — — 23805 23805
exchange differences on translation  
of foreign operations   — — — 4 21 — — — 17
movements on cash flow hedges — — — — — 1263 — — 1263
tax relating to components of  
other comprehensive income  — — — — 50 341 1086 1525 2902
total comprehensive income 
for the year   — — — 4 71 922 1086 25330 25427
issue of share capital  4 2480 483 — — — — — 2001
own shares disposed  
of on release of shares  — — 8 — — — — 8 —
sharebased payments charge  — — — — 1146 — — — 1146
payment of dividends  — — — — — — — 7876 7876
balance as at 30 june 2011  364 15400 1165 251 2881 477 2636 54030 73920
        sharebased  deferred    
    share share own translation payments 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 payments charge  — — — — 826 — — — 826
payment of dividends  — — — — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010  360 12920 690 247 1806 445 1550 36584 53222
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 
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 54
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000  £000
noncurrent assets
goodwill          16 2062 —
intangible assets          17  2097 559
property plant and equipment        18  2481 2895
deferred tax asset         23  3509 1417
derivative financial instruments        22  21 127
           10170 4998
current assets
inventories         20  10695 9073
trade and other receivables        21  9910 8178
cash and cash equivalents          31932 17185
shortterm deposits           23637 23037
derivative financial instruments        22  183 1040
           76357 58513
total assets           86527 63511
current liabilities
trade and other payables         24  8335 6866
current tax liabilities          2891 2698
derivative financial instruments        22  799 559
           12025 10123
net current assets          64332 48390
noncurrent liabilities
deferred tax liability         23 430 —
derivative financial instruments        22 152 166
           582 166
total liabilities          12607 10289
net assets          73920 53222
equity
share capital         26  364 360
share premium account        27 15400 12920
own shares         28  1165 690
translation reserve         29  251 247
sharebased payments reserve        29  2881 1806
hedging reserve          29  477 445
deferred tax reserve         29  2636 1550
retained earnings         29  54030 36584
total equity attributable to shareholders        73920 53222
the financial statements of abcam plc registered number 3509322 were approved by the board of directors and authorised for 
issue on 12 september 2011
they were signed on its behalf by
jeff liffe
director
consolidated balance sheet
at 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
55
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000 £000 
net cash inflow from operating activities       31  25483 19722
investing activities
investment income          291 176
proceeds on disposal of property plant and equipment      30 60
purchase of property plant and equipment        1038 809
purchase of intangible assets         147 66
acquisition of subsidiary net of cash acquired      30 2448 —
net cash used in investing activities        3312 639
financing activities
dividends paid           7876 5316
proceeds on issue of shares         895 949
purchase of own shares         4 —
increase in shortterm deposits         600 23037
net cash used in financing activities        7585 27404
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents       14586 8321
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year       17185 25501
effect of foreign exchange rates         161 5
cash and cash equivalents at end of year        31932 17185
consolidated cash flow statement
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 56
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000  £000
noncurrent assets
intangible assets          17 434 556
property plant and equipment        18  2007 2462
investments         19  4041 203
deferred tax asset         23  2656 986
derivative financial instruments        22  21 127
           9159 4334
current assets
inventories         20  10474 9042
trade and other receivables        21  10843 9572
cash and cash equivalents         29942 15219
shortterm deposits          23637 23037
derivative financial instruments        22  183 1040
           75079 57910
total assets          84238 62244
current liabilities
trade and other payables         24  7336 6066
current tax liabilities          2876 2536
derivative financial instruments        22  799 559
           11011 9161
net current assets          64068 48749
noncurrent liabilities
derivative financial instruments        22 152 166
total liabilities          11163 9327
net assets          73075 52917
equity
share capital         26 364 360
share premium account        27  15400 12920
own shares         28  1165 690
sharebased payments reserve        29  2877 1731
hedging reserve         29  477 445
deferred tax reserve         29  2089 1315
retained earnings         29  53987 36836
total equity attributable to shareholders        73075 52917
the financial statements of abcam plc registered number 3509322 were approved by the board of directors and authorised for 
issue on 12 september 2011
they were signed on its behalf by
jeff liffe
director
company balance sheet
at 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
57
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000  £000
net cash inflow from operating activities       31  23493 15892
investing activities
investment income          286 172
proceeds on disposal of property plant and equipment      30 60
purchases of property plant and equipment       922 722
purchases of intangible assets         141 65
acquisition of subsidiary        30 2570 —
dividends received          2132 3196
net cash used inarising from investing activities       1185 2641
financing activities
dividends paid          7876 5316
proceeds on issue of shares         895 949
purchase of own shares         4 —
increase in shortterm deposits         600 23037
net cash used in financing activities        7585 27404
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents       14723 8871
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year       15219 24090
cash and cash equivalents at end of year        29942 15219
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
profit for the year          23929 20626
reserve movements on cash flow hedges        1263 677
sharebased payments charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries     120 98
tax relating to components of other comprehensive income      2221 1346
other comprehensive income for the year        1078 767
total comprehensive income for the year        25007 21393
company statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 june 2011
company cash flow statement
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 58
        sharebased  deferred   
     share share own payments 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 2010   360 12920 690 1731 445 1315 36836 52917
profit for the year    — — — — — — 23929 23929
sharebased payments charge 
recognised on behalf of subsidiaries  — — — 120 — — — 120
movements on cash flow hedges  — — — — 1263 — — 1263
tax relating to components of  
other comprehensive income   — — — — 341 774 1106 2221
total comprehensive income for the year  — — — 120 922 774 25035 25007
issue of share capital   4 2480 483 — — — — 2001
own shares disposed of on  
exercise of share options   — — 8 — — — 8 —
sharebased payments charge   — — — 1026 — — — 1026
payment of dividends   — — — — — — 7876 7876
balance as at 30 june 2011   364 15400 1165 2877 477 2089 53987 73075
        sharebased  deferred   
     share share own payments 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 payments 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 payments charge   — — — 725 — — — 725
payment of dividends   — — — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 30 june 2010   360 12920 690 1731 445 1315 36836 52917
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
company statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
59
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 is a producer and distributor of high quality researchgrade antibodies and associated protein research tools the group 
operates through its parent company abcam plc and through its wholly owned subsidiaries abcam inc abcam kk abcam hong 
kong limited and mitosciences inc allowing it to serve a global customer base of over 88 countries
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 the financial statements
ifrs 3 2008 business combinations
ias 27 2008 consolidated and separate financial statements
these standards have introduced a number of changes in the accounting for business combinations when acquiring a subsidiary 
or an associate ifrs 3 2008 has also introduced additional disclosure requirements for acquisitions see note 30 for more details
standards not affecting the reported results nor the financial position
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
ifric 17 distributions of noncash assets to owners
the interpretation provides guidance on when an entity should recognise a noncash dividend payable how to measure the dividend 
payable and how to account for any difference between the carrying amount of the assets distributed and the carrying amount of the 
dividend payable when the payable is settled
the following amendments were made as part of improvements to ifrss 2009
amendment to ifrs 2 sharebased payment
ifrs 2 has been amended following the issue of ifrs 3 2008 to confirm that the contribution of a business on the formation of a 
joint venture and common control transactions is not within the scope of ifrs 2 the group has not entered into such transactions 
therefore the amendment does not impact these financial statements
amendment to ias 17 leases
ias 17 has been amended such that it may be possible to classify a lease of land as a finance lease if it meets the criteria for that 
classification under ias 17 the group continues to classify the lease of land and buildings as an operating lease and therefore this 
amendment does not impact these financial statements
amendment to ias 39 financial instruments recognition and measurement
ias 39 has been amended to state that options contracts between an acquirer and a selling shareholder to buy or sell an acquiree that 
will result in a business combination at a future acquisition date are not excluded from the scope of the standard the group has not 
entered into any such contracts and therefore this amendment does not impact these financial statements
notes to the consolidated financial statements
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 60
2 adoption of new and revised standards continued
standards not affecting the reported results nor the financial position continued
amendment to ias 39 financial instruments recognition and measurement 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 yet been adopted by the eu
ifrs 9 november 2009 revised october 2010  financial instruments classification and measurement
ifrs 10 may 2011    consolidated financial statements
ifrs 11 may 2011    joint arrangements
ifrs 12 may 2011    disclosures of interests in other entities
ifrs 13 may 2011    fair value measurement
ias 27 may 2011     separate financial statements
ias 28 may 2011     investments in associates and joint ventures
amendments to ifrs 7 october 2010   transfers of financial assets
amendments to ias 12 december 2010   deferred tax recovery of underlying assets
amendments to ifrs 1 december 2010   severe hyperinflation and removal of fixed dates for firsttime adopters
improvements to ifrss may 2010
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 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 in the next few pages
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
subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the group they are deconsolidated from the date 
that control ceases where necessary adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies 
in line with those used by the group all intragroup transactions balances income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation 
business combinations
business combinations are accounted for using the acquisition method the consideration transferred for the acquisition of a subsidiary 
is the fair values at the date of exchange of the assets transferred the liabilities incurred and the equity interests issued by the group 
acquisitionrelated costs are expensed as incurred
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
61
3 significant accounting policies continued
business combinations continued
identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination that meet the recognition 
criteria under ifrs 3 2008 are measured at their fair values at the date of acquisition except that
  deferred tax assets or liabilities and liabilities or assets related to employee benefit arrangements are recognised and measured 
in accordance with ias 12 income taxes and ias 19 employee benefits respectively
  liabilities or equity instruments relating to the replacement by the group of an acquiree’s sharebased payment awards are 
measured in accordance with ifrs 2 sharebased payment and
  assets or disposal groups that are classified as held for sale in accordance with ifrs 5 noncurrent assets held for sale 
and discontinued operations are measured as per that standard
investments in subsidiaries are accounted for at cost less impairment where applicable cost is adjusted to reflect changes 
in consideration arising from contingent consideration amendments cost also includes direct attributable costs of investment
goodwill
goodwill represents the excess of the cost of an acquisition over the fair value of the group’s share of the net identifiable assets of 
the acquired subsidiary at the date of acquisition goodwill is reviewed and tested annually for impairment and carried at cost less 
accumulated impairment losses impairment losses on goodwill are not reversed in subsequent periods gains and losses on the 
disposal of an entity include the carrying amount of goodwill relating to the entity sold
goodwill is allocated to cashgenerating units for the purpose of impairment testing the allocation is made to those cashgenerating 
units or groups of cashgenerating units that are expected to benefit from the business combination in which the goodwill arose 
cashgenerating units to which goodwill has been allocated are tested for impairment annually or more frequently when there is 
an indication that the unit may be impaired if the recoverable amount of the cashgenerating unit is less than the carrying amount 
of the unit the impairment loss is allocated first to reduce the carrying amount of any goodwill allocated to the unit and then to the 
other assets of the unit prorata on the basis of the carrying amount of each asset in the unit
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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 62
3 significant accounting policies continued
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
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 instruments
hedge 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 abcam hong kong limited and mitosciences inc 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
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
63
3 significant accounting policies continued
taxation continued
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
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 distribution rights and contractbased intangibles 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 the term of the deal in the case of distribution rights and the length of the contract for contractbased intangibles
impairment of tangible and intangible assets excluding goodwill
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 posttax 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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 64
3 significant accounting policies continued
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
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
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
65
3 significant accounting policies continued
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 sip and 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 
black scholes 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 goodwill 
and other 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
as part of the business combination during the year the group acquired a contractbased intangible asset the group reviews the carrying 
amount of all intangible assets held at each balance sheet date and no impairment was considered necessary for this asset however subsequent 
to the review in the prior year of the remaining product line acquisition deals resulting in the recognition of an impairment loss a further 
loss of £38000 has been recognised at the balance sheet date 2010 £147000
impairment of goodwill
the group determines whether goodwill is impaired on at least an annual basis or more frequently when there are indications of possible 
impairment the impairment review requires a value in use calculation of the cashgenerating units to which the goodwill is allocated 
in estimating the value in use management is required to make an estimate of the expected future cash flows attributable to the 
cashgenerating unit and to choose an appropriate discount rate to calculate the present value of those cash flows the carrying 
amount of goodwill at 30 june 2011 was £2062000 2010 £nil further details are given in note 16
fair value of derivatives and other financial instruments
as described in note 25 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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 66
4 critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty continued
key sources of estimation uncertainty continued
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 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 2011 of £23929000 2010 £20626000
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 
           2011 2010 
          note £000  £000
sales of goods          83272 71106
investment revenue         11  398 184
           83670 71290
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 
and derivative financial instruments by geographical location is detailed below
 revenue  noncurrent assets
         year ended year ended as at as at 
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000 £000 £000 £000
us         34374 29762 2094 370
japan         8998 6771 33 52
germany         6474 5664 — —
uk         6278 5632 4496 3017
other countries        27148 23277 17 15
         83272 71106 6640 3454
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
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
67
8 profit for the year
profit for the year has been arrived at after chargingcrediting
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          notes  £000  £000
foreign exchange differences arising on financial instruments at fair value through profit or loss   74 545
other net foreign exchange gains        725 983
rd expenditure          3231 3701
operating lease rentals – land and buildings      12  905 838
depreciation of property plant and equipment      18  1380 1352
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment       8 32 
amortisation of intangible assets included within administration and management expenses  17 210 180
impairment loss on intangible assets included within administration and management expenses  17  38 147
cost of inventories recognised as an expense       26310 22491
write down of inventories recognised as an expense        929 1198
staff costs         10  14656 12437
impairment lossgain recognised on trade receivables     21  42 48
auditor’s remuneration        9  164 143
9 auditor’s remuneration
a detailed analysis of the auditor’s remuneration on a worldwide basis is provided below
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
fees payable to the company’s auditor for the audit of the company’s annual accounts    75 69
fees payable to the company’s auditor for other services to the group
– the audit of the company’s subsidiaries pursuant to legislation      3 3
total audit fees          78 72
– other services pursuant to legislation        16  15
– tax services          17 19
– corporate finance services         30 —
– other services
1
          23 37
total nonaudit fees          86 71
total auditor’s remuneration         164 143
1
  other services relates to training provided by the not for profit organisation cambridge network limited and its subsidiaries this is disclosed due to the audit partner 
also being a director of the cambridge network limited consistent with the not for profit status neither the audit partner nor deloitte receive any remuneration in relation 
to this arrangement
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 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         number  number  number  number
management administrative marketing and distribution    245 204 156 131
laboratory        52 49 50 49
         297 253 206 180 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 68
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 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
wages and salaries        11131 9701 7556 6930
social security costs        1247 861 717 505
pension costs        1132 1049 1012 953
charge in respect of share options granted      1146 826 1027 725
         14656 12437 10312 9113
11 investment revenue
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
interest on cash and shortterm deposits        398 184
12 operating lease arrangements
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
minimum lease payments under operating leases recognised as an expense in the year
– land and buildings          905 838
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 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
within one year        1551 1178 765 712
in the second to fifth years inclusive      4325 2519 1870 1446
after five years        388 — 131 —
         6264 3697 2766 2158
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 201112 on these operating leases is expected to be £12m for the group and £04m for the company
13 tax
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
          note £000  £000
current tax          8972 6919
deferred tax         23 666 310
           8306 6609
corporation tax is calculated at 275 2010 28 of the estimated assessable profit for the year taxation for other jurisdictions 
is calculated at the rates prevailing in the respective jurisdictions
in march 2011 the uk government announced a reduction in the standard rate of uk corporation tax to 26 effective 1 april 2011 
which became substantively enacted in march 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
69
13 tax continued
the uk government also announced a further reduction in the standard rate of corporation tax to 25 effective 1 april 2012 
which was substantively enacted in july 2011 and has proposed further reductions by 1 per annum to 23 by 1 april 2014 
these further tax rate reductions had not been substantively enacted at the balance sheet date and therefore have not been 
reflected in these financial statements
the effect of these tax rate reductions on the deferred tax balance will be accounted for in the period in which the tax rate reductions 
are substantively enacted
the impact of the rate reduction which will be reflected in the next reporting period is estimated to reduce the uk deferred tax asset 
and liability provided at 30 june 2011 by £102000 and £17000 respectively
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 
         2011 2011 2010 2010 
         £000    £000  
profit before tax        32111  25831 
tax at the uk corporation tax rate of 275 2010 28    8831 275 7233 280
effect of different tax rates of subsidiaries operating in different jurisdictions   350 11 253 10
tax effect of expenses that are not deductible in determining taxable profit   67 02 12 00
rd tax credit uplift        812 25 918 35
prior year adjustments       142 04 29 01
effect of difference between closing deferred tax rate and current tax rate   12 00 — —
tax expense and effective rate for the year      8306 259 6609 256
14 dividends
           year ended  year ended 
           30 june 30 june 
           2011  2010 
           £000  £000
amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year
final dividend for the year ended 30 june 2010 of 2922 pence 2009 1880 pence per share    5256 3369
interim dividend for the year ended 30 june 2011 of 1450 pence 2010 1084 pence per share   2620 1947
total distributions to equity holders in the period       7876 5316
proposed final dividend for the year ended 30 june 2011 of 3800 pence 2010 2922 pence per share  6906 5252
 comparatives have been rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
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 eps is based on the following data
          year ended  year ended 
          30 june  30 june 
          2011  2010 
          £000   £000
earnings
earnings for the purposes of basic and diluted eps being net profit attributable  
to equity holders of the parent company       23805  19222
number of shares
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic eps   179865322 178567935
effect of dilutive potential ordinary shares
– share options         3541456  4308985
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted eps    183406778 182876920
 comparatives have been rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
basic eps is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of shares 
outstanding during the year diluted eps is calculated on the same basis as basic eps 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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 70
16 goodwill
           note £000
cost
at 1 july 2010           —
recognised on acquisition of subsidiary        30 2062
at 30 june 2011           2062
accumulated impairment losses
at 1 july 2010 and 30 june 2011         —
carrying amount
at 30 june 2010           —
at 30 june 2011           2062
goodwill has been allocated to one cashgenerating unit cgu being the mitosciences business acquired on 23 may 2011 see note 30
the group performs an annual test for impairment or more frequently if there are any indications that goodwill might be impaired
the recoverable amount of the cgu is determined from value in use calculations the key assumptions considered most sensitive for 
the value in use calculations are those regarding the discount rates growth rates and anticipated movements in selling prices and direct 
costs during the period
management has projected cash flows based on financial forecasts over a period of four years no growth rate has been used in the 
extrapolation of cash flows beyond the four years a discount rate of 11 has been estimated using pretax rates that reflect current 
market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the cgu
management has performed sensitivity analysis on the key assumptions mentioned above the results of this analysis indicate that 
reasonable changes in the key assumptions would not result in the carrying amount of goodwill to exceed its recoverable amount 
as such no impairment of goodwill has been recognised at the balance sheet date
17 intangible assets
group
        up front  distribution  contract   
        licence fees  rights  software  based total 
        £000  £000  £000  £000 £000
cost
at 1 july 2009       262  1393  162  — 1817
additions       60 — 33 — 93
at 1 july 2010       322 1393 195 — 1910
additions       65 — 53 — 118
acquisition of subsidiary      — — 2 1666 1668
at 30 june 2011        387 1393 250 1666 3696
amortisation and impairment
at 1 july 2009       180  801  43  — 1024
charge for the year       47 77 56 — 180
impairment loss       — 147 — — 147
at 1 july 2010       227 1025 99 — 1351
charge for the year       66 64 69 11 210
impairment loss       — 38 — — 38
at 30 june 2011       293 1127 168 11 1599
carrying amount
at 30 june 2010       95 368 96 — 559
at 30 june 2011       94 266 82 1655 2097
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
71
17 intangible assets continued
company
         up front  distribution 
         licence fees  rights  software  total 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
cost
at 1 july 2009        262  1393  161  1816
additions        60 — 31 91
at 1 july 2010        322 1393 192 1907
additions        65 — 48 113
at 30 june 2011        387 1393 240 2020
amortisation and impairment
at 1 july 2009        180  801  43  1024
charge for the year        47 77 56 180
impairment loss        — 147 — 147
at 1 july 2010        227 1025 99 1351
charge for the year        66 64 67 197
impairment loss        — 38 — 38
at 30 june 2011        293 1127 166 1586
carrying amount
at 30 june 2010        95 368 93 556
at 30 june 2011        94 266 74 434
the amortisation period for the upfront licence fees and software is three years the amortisation period for the distribution rights and 
contractbased intangibles 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 £38000 2010 £147000 has been recognised 
in the year to take account of the recoverable amount of the contracts
the contractbased intangible relates to an agreement with the university of oregon under which the university supplies monoclonal 
antibodies to mitosciences who has full rights and entitlement to commercially exploit these materials in exchange for an ongoing fee 
the remaining amortisation period is 13 years being the remaining term of the agreement abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 72
18 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 2009       743  5384  1404  53  7584
additions       252 321 150 35 758
exchange differences      24 33 63 — 120
disposals       — 140 — — 140
at 1 july 2010       1019 5598 1617 88 8322
additions       196 554 35 96 881
acquisition of subsidiary      — 128 18 — 146
exchange differences      14 24 42 — 80
disposals       — 49 28 — 77
at 30 june 2011       1201 6207 1600 184 9192
accumulated depreciation
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 1 july 2010       724  3963  695 45 5427
charge for the year       178 884 278 40 1380
exchange differences      10 19 28 — 57
eliminated on disposals      — 19 20 — 39
at 30 june 2011       892 4809 925 85 6711
carrying amount
at 30 june 2010       295 1635 922 43 2895
at 30 june 2011       309 1398 675 99 2481
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
73
18 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 2009       542  5056  817  53  6468
additions       208 297 111 35 651
disposals       — 140 — — 140
at 1 july 2010       750 5213 928 88 6979
additions       143 501 24 96 764
disposals       — 49 — — 49
at 30 june 2011       893 5665 952 184 7694
accumulated depreciation and impairment
at 1 july 2009       397  2895  91  31  3414
charge for the year       128 834 175 14 1151
eliminated on disposals      — 48 — — 48
at 1 july 2010       525 3681 266 45 4517
charge for the year       133 810 206 40 1189
eliminated on disposals      — 19 — — 19
at 30 june 2011       658 4472 472 85 5687
carrying amount
at 30 june 2010       225 1532 662 43 2462
at 30 june 2011       235 1193 480 99 2007
19 investments
the company’s subsidiaries at 30 june 2011 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 dormant        uk  100  100
mitosciences inc         us 100 100
abcam inc abcam kk abcam hong kong limited and mitosciences inc are involved in the sale and distribution of antibodies 
and related products mitosciences inc also develops and manufactures related products for use in metabolism research the abcam 
employee share 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
           note £000
at 1 july 2009           105
additions           98
at 1 july 2010           203
additions           120
addition relating to acquisition of subsidiary       30 3718
at 30 june 2011           4041
 these additions represent sharebased payment charges for share options issued by the company to employees of the subsidiaries
investments are held at cost less provision for impairment abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 74
20 inventories
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
raw materials        30 — — —
work in progress        60 — — —
finished goods        10605 9073 10474 9042
         10695 9073 10474 9042
21 financial assets
trade and other receivables
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
amounts receivable for the sale of goods      8267 7074 3430 2873
allowance for doubtful debts       323 297 124 107
         7944 6777 3306 2766
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings      — — 6408 5826
other debtors        886 665 373 391
prepayments        1080 736 756 589
         9910 8178 10843 9572
trade receivables
the average credit period taken for sales is 350 days 2010 326 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 to 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 
         2011 2010 2011  2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
0 to 30 days overdue       1302 1366 378 589
30 to 60 days overdue       151 133 — —
         1453 1499 378 589
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
75
21 financial assets continued
trade receivables continued
movement in the allowance for doubtful debts
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
balance at the beginning of the year      297 305 107 115
impairment lossesgains recognised through income statement     42 48 28 14
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations    12 16 — —
amounts written off as uncollectable      24 19 11 9
amounts recovered during the year      20 43 — 15
balance at the end of the year        323 297 124 107
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
ageing of impaired receivables
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
0 to 30 days overdue       79 44 25 2
30 to 60 days overdue       152 163 68 71
60 to 90 days overdue       39 42 16 13
more than 90 days overdue       53 48 15 21
         323 297 124 107
the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value
22 derivative financial instruments
group and company 30 june 2011
 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      60 573 21 152 644
derivatives carried at fair value through profit and loss fvtpl
forward exchange contracts that are not designated in hedge  
accounting relationships       123 226 — — 103
        183 799 21 152 747 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 76
22 derivative financial instruments continued
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 
further details of derivative financial instruments are provided in note 25
23 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 periods
group
        accelerated  cash  other  
        tax  flow  sharebased  timing  
        depreciation hedges  payment  differences  total 
        £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
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
acquisition of subsidiary      18 — — 406 424
credit to income       142 — 291 233 666
credit to equity       — 341 1086 — 1427
exchange differences      2 — 4 5 7
at 30 june 2011       117 167 3164 135 3079
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset where the group has a legally enforceable right to do so the following is the analysis 
of the deferred tax balances after offset for financial reporting purposes
          30 june 30 june 30 june  
          2011 2010 2009 
          £000 £000 £000
deferred tax assets         3509 1417 335
deferred tax liabilities        430 — —
          3079 1417 335
the deferred tax liability of £430000 2010 £nil has been recognised in relation to the acquired contractbased intangible asset as a 
result of the acquisition of mitosciences inc note 30 amounts released from this liability during the period were £3000 2010 £nil 
representing the decrease of the deferred tax liability in line with amortisation charged against the carrying value of the associated 
intangible asset 
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
77
23 deferred tax continued
company
        accelerated  cash   other  
        tax  flow  sharebased  timing  
        depreciation hedges  payment  differences  total 
        £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
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
credit to income       157 — 267 131 555
credit to equity       — 341 774 — 1115
at 30 june 2011       62 167 2516 35 2656
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 2010 £nil 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 
24 other financial liabilities
trade and other payables
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
amounts falling due within one year
trade payables        3534 2555 3160 2278
amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings      — — 431 306
accruals and deferred income       4515 3870 3479 3192
deferred creditor         — 48 — 48
other taxes and social security       271 257 265 240
other creditors        15 136 1 2
         8335 6866 7336 6066
trade creditors and accruals principally comprise amounts outstanding for trade purchases and ongoing costs at 30 june 2011 the 
group had an average of 37 days of purchases 2010 29 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 represented the earnout payable on sales of products under a distribution agreement the liability has now 
been fully satisfied
25 financial instruments
capital risk management
the group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the group will be able to continue as a going concern 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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 78
25 financial instruments continued
categories of financial instruments
 group  company 
 carrying value  carrying value
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
financial assets
loans and receivables
amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings      — — 6408 5826
trade receivables        7944 6777 3306 2766
vat recoverable included in other debtors     515 534 361 387
         8459 7311 10075 8979
cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents and shortterm deposits     55569 40222 53578 38256 
loans and receivables including cash and cash equivalents    64028 47533 63653 47235 
financial liabilities
other financial liabilities at amortised cost
trade and other payables       3820 2948 3426 2826
current tax liabilities        2891 2698 2876 2536
amortised cost        6711 5646 6302 5362
 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
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 350 days 2010 326 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 350 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
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
79
25 financial instruments continued
risk in relation to the use of financial instruments continued
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 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
euros         179 202 2493 1944
us dollars        2074 1144 6030 5593
japanese yen        49 30 1794 1279
hong kong dollars        4 — 56 55
         2306 1376 10373 8871
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 exposed to hong kong dollars 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 in the balance sheet at the end of the relevant accounting period and adjusts their translation at the 
period end for an 8 change in foreign currency rates it does not represent the overall impact on group profitability if the exchange 
rate sensitivity had been applied through the reporting period a positive number indicates an increase in profit or equity
 yen currency impact  euro currency impact  us dollar currency impact
       2011 2010 2011 2010 2011 2010 
       £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
effect of an 8 strengthening in relevant exchange rate on
profit or loss      — — — — — 237
other equity      407 385 1305 1051 785 594
effect of an 8 weakening in relevant exchange rate on
profit or loss      — — — 1 — 279
other equity      478 453 1532 1234 922 697
in management’s opinion the sensitivity analysis is unrepresentative of the inherent foreign exchange risk since it is limited to the 
yearend exposure and does not 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 valued using quoted forward exchange rates and the yield curves derived from quoted interest 
rates matching maturities of the contracts abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 80
25 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 2011  2011 2011 
outstanding contracts        2011 000  £000  £000
sell us dollars
less than 3 months        155 5400 3482 115
3 to 6 months        159 4385 2759 23
7 to 12 months        159 9173 5778 43
13 to 15 months        158 4352 2747 21
         158 23310 14766 202
sell euros
less than 3 months        117 €4618 3934 235
3 to 6 months        115 €4297 3726 147
7 to 12 months        116 €9028 7808 309
13 to 15 months        116 €4208 3634 140
         116 €22151 19102 831
sell yen
less than 3 months        13724 ¥244476 1781 108
3 to 6 months        12848 ¥170555 1328 7
7 to 12 months        12891 ¥356772 2768 5
13 to 15 months         12929 ¥161536 1249 12
         13098 ¥933339 7126 118
total of outstanding forward contracts        40994 747
          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
at 30 june 2011 the fair value of contracts held as cash flow hedges is £644000 2010 £619000 the remaining contracts are not 
held as cash flow hedges 
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
81
25 financial instruments continued
forward exchange contracts 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 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 2011 the average maturity 
of balances was 83 days 2010 146 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
2011
trade payables       — 3296 237 1 3534
accruals and deferred income      — 2764 163 1588 4515
         6060 400 1589 8049
company
2011
trade payables       — 2981 177 2 3160
accruals and deferred income      — 2377 108 994 3479
         5358 285 996 6639
        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
interest rate risk sensitivity analysis
an increase of 025 in the average interest rate during the year would have resulted in an increase in interest received by the group 
of £120000 2010 £82000 and by the company of £115000 2010 £78000 a decrease of 025 in the average interest rate 
during the year would have resulted in a reduction in interest received by the group of £120000 2010 £82000 and by the company 
of £115000 2010 £78000 there would have been no effect on equity reserves
the average cash and shortterm deposits balance throughout the year has been used as the basis for the calculations a 025 
increase or decrease in interest rates represents management’s assessment of the reasonably possible change in interest rates abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 82
26 share capital
group and company
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
authorised
500000000 ordinary shares of 02 pence each       1000 1000
issued and fully paid  
181724652 2010179753210 ordinary shares of 02 pence each     364 360
the movement during the year on the company’s issued and fully paid shares was as follows
          2011 2011 2010 
          number  £000  £000
balance at beginning of year       179753210  360 355
issue of share capital        1971442 4 5
balance at end of year       181724652 364 360
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
the company has one class of ordinary shares which carry no right to fixed income
the five for one subdivision of abcam’s ordinary shares of 1 pence each approved by shareholders at the agm on 1 november 2010 
became effective on 15 november 2010 the subdivision has reduced the market price and increased the number of shares in issue 
immediately following the subdivision the company had a total of 180394820 ordinary shares of 02 pence each in issue compared 
to a total of 36078964 ordinary shares of 1 pence each prior to the subdivision
during the year the company issued 02 pence ordinary shares as follows
           exercise total 
          number  price  paid 
date issued          of shares  £  £
september 2010         32400 0125 4050
september 2010         32400 0050 1620
september 2010         33240 0681 22636
september 2010         9205 0676 6224
october 2010         2780 0560 1557
november 2010         519375 0624 324090
november 2010         1640 0560 918
november 2010         10000 0050 500
november 2010         570 0650 370
december 2010         113598 3450 391913
december 2010         22323 3900 87060
december 2010         83046 0624 51821
march 2011         197045 0624 122956
march 2011         42330 0560 23705
march 2011         60510 0498 30134
march 2011         51800 0125 6475
march 2011         22500 0647 14560
april 2011         101304 0624 63214
april 2011         4855 0560 2719
april 2011         2500 0050 125
may 2011         37705 0630 23754
may 2011         306940 0624 191531
may 2011         279521 3971 1109978
june 2011         3855 0498 1920
          1971442  2483830
 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
 shares issued as part consideration for the acquisition of mitosciences inc for further details refer to note 30
all shares issued prior to 15 november 2010 have been rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision
further details of the company’s share option schemes are provided in note 32
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
83
27 share premium
group and company
            £000
balance at 1 july 2009          11558
premium arising on issue of equity shares         1362
balance at 1 july 2010          12920
premium arising on issue of equity shares         2480
balance at 30 june 2011          15400
there were no costs of issue incurred during the year or the previous year
28 own shares
group and company
            £000
balance at 1 july 2010          690
acquired in the period          483
disposed of on exercise of options         8
balance at 30 june 2011          1165
this balance represents the cost of 670472 shares with a nominal value of £1341 in abcam plc 2010 537290 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 sip  see note 32 for further details of this scheme
29 retained earnings and other reserves
group
        sharebased     
       translation  payments  hedging  deferred tax  retained  
       reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 reserve
4
 earnings  total 
      notes £000  £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
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 payments charge      — 826 — — — 826
deferred tax asset recognised     — — 189 583 — 772
current tax deduction for exercise of share options   — — — 383 1300 917
profit for the year       — — — — 19222 19222
own shares disposed of on exercise of options   — — — — 29 29
increase in fair value of hedging derivatives    — — 677 — — 677
payment of dividends    14 — — — — 5316 5316
balance as at 1 july 2010      247 1806 445 1550 36584 40632
exchange differences on translation of foreign operations  4 21 — — — 17
sharebased payments charge      — 1146 — — — 1146
deferred tax asset recognised     — — 341 1086 — 1427
current tax deduction for exercise of share options   — 50 — — 1525 1475
profit for the year       — — — — 23805 23805
own shares disposed of on exercise of options   — — — — 8 8
decrease in fair value of hedging derivatives    — — 1263 — — 1263
payment of dividends    14 — — — — 7876 7876
balance as at 30 june 2011     251 2881 477 2636 54030 59321
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 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 84
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011
29 retained earnings and other reserves continued
company
        sharebased     
        payments  hedging  deferred tax  retained  
        reserve
1
 reserve
2
 reserve
3
 earnings  total 
       notes £000  £000  £000  £000  £000
balance as at 1 july 2009       908  933  1196  20517  23554
sharebased payments charge       725 —  — — 725
sharebased payments charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries   98 —  — — 98
deferred tax asset recognised       —  189 386 — 575
current tax deduction for exercise of share options    — — 267 1038 771
profit for the year        —  —  — 20626 20626
own shares disposed of on exercise of options    —  —  — 29 29
increase in fair value of hedging derivatives     —  677 — — 677
payment of dividends     15 —  — — 5316 5316
balance as at 1 july 2010      1731 445 1315 36836 40327
sharebased payments charge      1026 — — — 1026
sharebased payments charge recognised on behalf of subsidiaries  120 — — — 120
deferred tax asset recognised      — 341 774 — 1115
current tax deduction for exercise of share options     — — — 1106 1106
profit for the year        — — — 23929 23929
own shares disposed of on exercise of options    — — — 8 8
decrease in fair value of hedging derivatives     — 1263 — — 1263
payment of dividends     14 — — — 7876 7876
balance as at 30 june 2011      2877 477 2089 53987 58476
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
30 acquisition of subsidiary
on 23 may 2011 the company acquired 100 of the issued share capital of mitosciences inc for total consideration of us60m 
£37m total consideration comprised us42m £26m cash and 279521 abcam plc ordinary shares of 02 pence with a fair value 
of us18m £11m based on the rolling five day average price of 3971 pence per share terminating three days prior to completion at the 
balance sheet date a further 006m £004m cash consideration had been recognised as a result of adjustments made following 
the postacquisition completion review
mitosciences inc based in the usa is recognised as one of the leading providers of mitochondrial research tools focusing on areas 
of metabolism and apoptosis the acquisition supports the group’s strategy of becoming the global leader in protein research tools and will 
serve to enhance the exceptional range of such products available to new and existing customers the combined entity will be a market 
leader in mitochondrial research and will extend the group’s manufacturing and product development capability particularly in the 
exciting area of assay development  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
85
30 acquisition of subsidiary continued
the table below summarises the consideration paid for mitosciences inc as well as the amounts recognised at the acquisition date 
of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed
            £000
recognised amounts of identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed
noncurrent assets
intangible assets           1668
property plant and equipment          146
current assets
inventories           235
trade and other receivables          194
cash and cash equivalents          122
deferred tax asset           9
current liabilities
trade and other payables          211
current tax liabilities           74
noncurrent liabilities
deferred tax liability           433
total identifiable net assets          1656
goodwill            2062
total consideration           3718
settled by
cash            2570
deferred cash consideration          38
equity instruments 279521 ordinary shares of abcam plc       1110
total consideration transferred          3718
net cash outflow arising on acquisition
cash consideration           2570
less cash and cash equivalent balances acquired        122
            2448
the goodwill of £2062000 arising from the acquisition represents the acquired product pipeline opportunities expanded customer 
base and a highly knowledgeable workforce none of the goodwill recognised is expected to be deductible for tax purposes
acquisitionrelated costs totalling £202000 are included within administrative expenses in the consolidated income statement for the 
year ended 30 june 2011 further acquisitionrelated costs of £49000 have been incurred since the balance sheet date
the fair value of trade and other receivables is £194000 which includes trade receivables with a fair value of £190000 and a gross 
contractual value of £203000 of which £13000 is expected to be uncollectable
during the period from the date of acquisition to the balance sheet date mitosciences inc contributed £162000 to the group’s 
revenue from sales to third parties and £31000 to the group’s profit before tax
if mitosciences inc had been consolidated from 1 july 2010 group revenues for the year would have been £84758000 and group 
profit before tax £32048000 after amortisation of intangibles abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 86
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011
31 note to the cash flow statement
 group  company
         30 june 30 june 30 june 30 june 
         2011 2010 2011 2010 
         £000  £000  £000  £000
operating profit for the year       31713 25647 28355 22805
adjustments for
depreciation of property plant and equipment      1380 1352 1189 1152
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment     8  32 — 32
amortisation of intangible assets      210 180 197 180
impairment losses on intangible assets      38 147 38 147
decrease in provisions       25 19 25 19
change in fair value of derivatives outstanding at year end    74 545 74 545
sharebased payments charge       1146 826 1026 725
operating cash flows before movements in working capital    34446 28710 30756 25567
increase in inventories       1388 2277 1432 2259
increase in receivables       1628 1692 1181 2987
increasedecrease in payables       1423 191 1394 146
cash generated by operations       32853 24932 29537 20175
income taxes paid        7370 5210 6044 4283
net cash inflow from operating activities      25483 19722 23493 15892
32 sharebased payments
equitysettled share option scheme
the company operates a number of share option schemes for certain employees of the group the sharebased payments charge 
relates to option awards from the emi scheme unapproved share option plan the abcam inc share scheme the abcam 2005 
share option scheme the saye scheme the abcam company share option plan csop the ltip and the 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 payments expense of £1146000 in the year 2010 £826000 of which £985000 
2010 £702000 was included within administration and management expenses and £161000 2010 £124000 was included 
within rd expenses abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
87
32 sharebased payments continued
summary of all schemes excluding sip and ltip
options outstanding as at 30 june 2011 had an exercise price of between 5 pence and 345 pence 2010 5 pence and 1808 pence 
the weighted average remaining contractual life is 708 years 2010 735 years the weighted average fair value of the options outstanding 
at the end of the year was 4128 pence 2010 2412 pence the group recorded a total sharebased payments expense of £252000 
2010 £279000 relating to all schemes excluding the sip and ltip
 2011  2010
          weighted  weighted 
          average  average 
         number of  exercise  number of exercise 
         share  price  share price 
         options  pence  options pence
outstanding at beginning of year      4319510 8311 5691010 5977
granted during year        386849 34500 708875 18080
forfeited during year       130605 16435 177980 8641
exercised during year       1556000 5751 1902395 5025
outstanding at the end of year       3019754 12616 4319510 8311
exercisable at end of year       1274530 5746 665470 3650
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
enterprise management incentive emi scheme
 2011  2010
          weighted   weighted 
          average   average 
         number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
         share  price  share  price 
         options pence options  pence
outstanding at beginning of year      1420840 5530 2577740 5456
forfeited during year       — — 60250 6240
exercised during year       931415 5477 1096650 5315
outstanding at the end of year       489425 5633 1420840 5530
exercisable at end of year       489425 5633 362250 3322
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
the growth in the net assets of the group means that the group has exceeded the limits set by hmrc for new option grants under the 
emi scheme under which no further grants can subsequently be made
unapproved share option plan
 2011  2010
          weighted   weighted 
          average   average 
         number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
         share  price  share  price 
         options pence  options  pence
outstanding at beginning of year      909705 5325 1342560 5205
exercised during year       151000 6240 432855 3798
outstanding at the end of year       758705 5802 909705 5325
exercisable at end of year       758705 5802 200000 2500
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
further grants of unapproved options are now being made under the abcam 2005 share option scheme abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 88
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011
32 sharebased payments continued
abcam inc share scheme
 2011  2010
          weighted   weighted 
          average   average 
         number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
         share  price  share  price 
         options pence  options  pence
outstanding at beginning of year      435620 6428 588955 6303
forfeited during year       — — 9945 6578
exercised during year       409220 6317 143390 7032
outstanding at the end of year       26400 6240 435620 6428
exercisable at end of year       26400 6240 103220 7032
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
further grants of options to abcam’s us employees are now being made under the abcam 2005 share option scheme
saye scheme
 2011  2010
          weighted  weighted 
          average  average 
         number of exercise number of  exercise 
         share  price share price 
         options pence options pence
outstanding at beginning of year      123005 4840 361530 4631
forfeited during year       — — 19275 4980
exercised during year       64365 4980 219250 4483
outstanding at the end of year       58640 4687 123005 4840
exercisable at end of year       — — — —
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
the abcam 2005 share option scheme
 2011  2010
          weighted   weighted 
          average   average 
         number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
         share  price  share  price 
         options  pence  options  pence
outstanding at beginning of year      1049615 11830 820225 9240
granted during year        202823 34500 317375 18080
forfeited during year       102190 14846 77735 10365
exercised during year        — — 10250 9240
outstanding at the end of year       1150248 15559 1049615 11830
exercisable at end of year       — — —  —
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
the abcam csop
 2011  2010
          weighted   weighted 
          average   average 
         number of  exercise  number of  exercise 
         share  price  share  price 
         options pence  options  pence
outstanding at beginning of year      380725 18080 — —
granted during year        184026 34500 391500 18080
forfeited during year       28415 22148 10775 18080
outstanding at the end of year       536336 23498 380725 18080
exercisable at end of year       — — —  —
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
89
32 sharebased payments continued
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     2 2 5 6 125  125
fair value at valuation date pence    052 052  170  246  384  382
exercise price pence     5  75  5  5  125  125
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
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
unapproved share option plan
        20 december 20 december 30 september 30 september 27 october 
grant date        2004  2004  2005  2005  2005
share price at grant pence      6  6  125  125  334
fair value at valuation date pence     224  232  378  204  1115
exercise price pence      5  5  125  25  30
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
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
saye scheme
         2 october 2 october 8 november 8 november 
grant date         2006  2006  2007  2007
share price at grant pence       56  56 624  624
fair value at valuation date pence      208  226  212  244
exercise price pence       448  448 498  498
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
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 90
32 sharebased payments continued
saye scheme continued
the fair value of options issued after september 2006 with marketbased performance criteria is 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  2 december 
grant date       2006  2007  2008  2008 2009 2010
share price at grant pence     56  624  826  925 1808 373
fair value at valuation date pence    168  178  246  23 576 138
exercise price pence     56  624  826  924 1808 345
expected volatility      30  30  30  24 34 37
expected life years      3  301  3  3 6 6
expected dividend yield     11  15  15  087 124 062
risk free rate      457  480  479  390 321 256
employee exercise multiple     2  2  2  2 2 2
employee exit rate      953  1200  1200  000 000 000
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
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 
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
         2011  2010 2011 2010
outstanding at beginning of year      418015 270920 86910 49365
granted during year        113598 186335 29494 44645
forfeited during year       40717 29570 13595 5025
released during year       3973 9670 113 2075
outstanding at the end of year       486923 418015 102696 86910
exercisable at end of year       — —  — —
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
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 £264000 2010 £195000 related to matching and free share awards in the year
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 also made to members of senior management in addition to the 
executive management team vesting of awards made in 2010 to senior management were conditional on marketbased performance 
criteria and calculated using the monte carlo model vesting criteria for awards made in 2011 to senior management were aligned 
with those awarded to the executive management team awards made in 2008 were nil cost options which vest subject to achievement 
of the relevant performance conditions after three years and can be exercised over the following seven years all other awards made 
under this scheme are conditional share awards with a fixed term of three years save as permitted in the ltip rules awards lapse on 
an employee leaving the company
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
91
32 sharebased payments continued
longterm incentive plan continued
details of performance share awards outstanding during the year are as follows
           ltip awards ltip awards 
           2011 2010
outstanding at beginning of year        1285095 772725
granted during year          327642 521260
forfeited during year         — 8890
outstanding at the end of the year        1612737 1285095
exercisable at end of year         — —
 rebased to reflect the five for one share subdivision which took place on 15 november 2010
these performance share awards were made on 2 december 2010 2010 9 november 2009 the aggregate of the fair values of the 
awards made on that date is £1009000 2010 £756000
the estimated fair values of the awards are calculated using the monte carlo model with the black scholes model used to calculate 
those with a performance condition based on eps the inputs into the models for awards granted are as follows
         6 and     
         17 november 9 november 9 november 2 december 
grant date         2008 2009 2009 2010
weighted average exercise price pence      — — — —
expected volatility        24 34 34 37
expected life        3 years 4 years 3 years 3 years
expected dividend yield       087 124 124 062
risk free rate        341 252 203 136
 awards made to senior management based on marketbased performance criteria only
the group recognised a total expense of £630000 2010 £352000 related to performance share awards under the ltip in the year
33 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 with the exception of mitosciences inc whose retirement benefit scheme will 
be introduced in the next financial year 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 2011 was £1132000 
2010 £1049000 as at 30 june 2011 contributions of £76000 2010 £80000 due in respect of the current reporting period 
had not been paid over to the schemes
34 events after the balance sheet date
business combination
on 12 september 2011 the group completed the acquisition of the entire share capital of ascent scientific ltd a specialist provider 
of biochemical tools based in the uk total consideration of £10m comprised of £6m cash and £4m of abcam plc ordinary shares 
of 02 pence
due to the proximity of the acquisition date to the date these financial statements were authorised for issue the fair values of the 
identifiable assets acquired and liabilities assumed are yet to be finalised 
founded in 2005 ascent scientific ltd has focused on building a range of high quality biochemicals for use by scientific researchers 
their range of over 400 products includes receptor ligands ion channel modulators enzyme inhibitors and apoptosis and cell cycle tools 
products are produced both inhouse and through outsourced manufacturing currently headquartered in bristol uk the company 
employs 25 staff globally in the year ended 31 july 2011 the company had product revenues of £14m
the acquisition further extends the group’s product portfolio and is in line with the strategy of becoming the world’s leading supplier 
of protein research tools  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 92
35 related party transactions
remuneration of key personnel
the remuneration of the emt 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 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
shortterm employee benefits and fees        1844 1853
sharebased payments charge         614 384
           2458 2237
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 £20394 2010 £23732 and paid 
£63101 in royalties 2010 £44762 £12648 relating to these royalties was outstanding at the year end 2010 £7780
dividends totalling £1407489 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 years as summarised in the following table
           30 june 30 june 
           2011 2010 
           £000  £000
sales of goods          38880 32526
dividends received          2132 3196
management fees charged         1008 782
           40004 34940
subsequent to the acquisition of mitosciences inc in the year mitosciences provided goods to the company with a total value 
of £101000 all of which remain unsold at the year end
amounts remaining outstanding at the year end can be seen in the company balance sheet
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
for the year ended 30 june 2011 once again we would like to thank 
our employees who have been 
essential to our continued success 
their skill and dedication has been 
invaluable in making the company 
what it is today abcam plc is committed to achieving good environmental practice and this is reflected in this annual 
report which has been printed on cocoon 50 silk this stock is comprised 50 post consumer 
waste and 50 virgin fibre which is independently certified in accordance with the rules of the forest 
stewardship council
®
 and produced at mills with iso 14001 environmental management systems
100
abcam plc
330 cambridge science park 
cambridge cb4 0fl 
uk
email corporateabcamcom 
phone 44 01223 696000 
fax 44 01223 771600
wwwabcamplccom


Summary:
 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 10
business review chief executive officer’s review
jonathan milner chief executive officer
i am delighted to report on another 
successful year for abcam total sales 
for the year were £833m 2010 £711m 
including £02m from our new subsidiary 
mitosciences which was acquired on 
23 may 2011 this represents organic 
growth of 169 or 168 on a constant 
currency basis assuming exchange rates 
had been the same as those recorded 
throughout the prior year
our strategy is to deliver profitable 
growth by
  introducing high quality products to 
our catalogue to continue to enhance 
the breadth of the product range 
as well as increasing our range of 
primary antibodies
  continuing to increase the validation 
information on the products in the 
catalogue from as many relevant 
sources as possible 
  extending our geographic penetration and
  further improving our customer service 
and support
during the year we have made significant 
progress on all these fronts our aim is to 
continue to build on our success within the 
“our aim is to continue to build on our 
success within the primary antibody market 
whilst using our established market reach and 
distribution platform to achieve strong growth 
in related life science tools markets”
  organic revenue growth of 169 
with nonprimary antibody products 
now representing 85 of total sales
  successful acquisition and integration 
of mitosciences with over 200 
products added to our catalogue 
within six weeks of acquisition
  10642 products added to the 
catalogue in the year generating 
£28m of sales
  redesign of the public website 
homepage to support more product 
ranges and better identify and 
present crossselling opportunities
  increase of over 100 in the 
number of images added to the 
data in our catalogue
  continue to focus on geographic 
expansion in markets where 
government research funding is 
increasing and on building out the 
extended catalogue both organically 
and perhaps through ma activity
3000

nonprimary antibody products 
added to our catalogue
“since launching a new 
range of apoptosis assay 
kits we achieved 25 
uplift in sales over the year 
these kits quickly and easily 
measure activity by metabolic 
analyte and are used by 
scientists predominantly 
working in cancer research 
abcam is already well 
positioned to serve 
researchers in this area 
so it’s easier for us to bring 
new products to market 
through our existing 
customer base”
gus mzumara reagents product manager
in summary abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
11
primary antibody market whilst using our 
established market reach and powerful 
distribution platform to achieve strong 
growth in related life science tools markets 
the drive for efficiency improvements is core 
to the way we operate and despite increasing 
the proportion of nonantibody products 
that we handle we were able to take 
advantage of the operational gearing in the 
business to increase profit before tax by 
251 to £323m 2010 £258m before 
costs of £02m associated with the acquisition 
of mitosciences eps increased by 230 
to 1323 pence 2010 1076 pence
market review
figure 1 overleaf outlines the revenues 
derived from each region in sterling as 
well as underlying currencies giving year 
on year growth rates
sales in the americas grew by 160 
to 583m 2010 502m representing 
442 of our total sales for the year after 
an unusually strong first half of our fiscal 
year we have seen more cautious spending 
amongst academic researchers which 
reduced growth in the second half a large 
proportion of us research funding is provided 
by the nih and we believe that this caution 
was caused by uncertainty surrounding the 
outcome of central government negotiations 
on the setting of the nih budget
the relationship between us funding 
and its impact on abcam’s sales is 
complex and we have grown for many 
years significantly ahead of nih’s budget 
levels increases in which have been 
modest furthermore as a provider of 
research tool consumables abcam can 
expect to be less affected by reductions 
in the nih budget than for example those 
companies supplying more expensive 
laboratory equipment 
the total budget for life science nih 
research was around 303bn in the 
calendar year 2009 312bn in 2010 
and is estimated to be 309bn in 2011 
the outlook for nih funding thereafter is 
likely to be caught up in budget reviews 
by the recently established joint select 
committee on deficit reduction which 
is charged with substantially reducing 
the us deficit over the next ten years
continued growth what were doing
introducing new 
products to complement 
our existing range
this year we added more than 3000 nonprimary 
antibody products to the catalogue and have 
successfully launched a number of new 
product ranges
through our proven oem model we are able to 
source popular research tools that complement 
our existing catalogue and consolidate products 
into distinct ranges for easy use by researchers 
customer adoption rates to new products have 
been high utilising existing marketing channels 
and our geographic reach we were able to grow 
sales of nonprimary antibody products by over 
50 over the year
our target going forward is to increase sales 
of nonprimary antibodies so they represent 
over 10 of overall sales  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 12
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
these figures exclude the arra stimulus 
to the us economy during 200910 which 
provided around 104bn to nih funding 
it is difficult to determine whether or to 
what extent abcam’s sales increased 
as a consequence of arra although it is 
possible given that grants typically run for 
two to three years that some of these 
funds are still being spent 
as well as adding new high quality 
products and a proven assay development 
capability the acquisition of mitosciences 
will also enable us to consolidate our 
customer service and technical support 
functions on the west coast in eugene 
oregon based on our earlier success 
we will however retain our marketing 
presence in california
sales to europe grew by 133 to 
€255m 2010 €225m representing 
263 of our total sales for the year 
our main european markets continue 
to be germany and france both of which 
performed satisfactorily the rest of europe 
is made up of a number of smaller 
markets many of which also performed 
acceptably a notable exception is italy 
where a combination of new administrative 
requirements and disappointing local 
distributor performance which has since 
been addressed led to a reduction in year 
on year sales of 98 our focus remains 
on providing high levels of customer 
support including in local language for 
the larger european countries if there is 
sufficient potential in the market to justify it 
during the year we added customer support 
in spanish
we had a successful year in the uk where 
uncertainty caused by the government’s 
spending review negatively impacted on 
sales in the first half of the year sales 
growth subsequently improved in the 
second half to give total sales for the year 
of £63m 2010 £56m representing 
growth of 108 the uk accounted for 
75 of total group sales
our business in japan has been remarkably 
robust in the face of the adversities caused 
by the earthquake and tsunami which hit the 
country in march this is due in no small 
part to the dedicated and steadfast way our 
staff performed during very difficult times 
the directly affected area in the north of 
the country represented around 5 of our 
japanese business but despite widespread 
disruption we were trading again with the 
rest of the country within a few days 
during the year we also increased the 
coverage of our overall product range 
which is available in japan and are very 
happy to report sales growth of 204 to 
¥1183m 2010 ¥983m this represented 
108 of our total group sales for the year
in hong kong and china we now 
have distributor arrangements in the key 
cities that are the centres for life science 
research our focus now is to build on 
these relationships and to improve 
customer service initiatives undertaken 
during the year include increasing 
the marketing materials available in 
mandarin and reorganising our logistics 
arrangements into china allowing us 
to ship directly into beijing and cut our 
delivery times to customers we continue 
to expect china to be a strong growth 
prospect for us in the coming financial 
year and we have a number of options for 
better supporting sales in the region under 
consideration including holding inventory 
in the region sales to china increased to 
hk481m 2010 hk343m representing 
a growth rate of 401 and now accounting 
for 47 of group sales
sales to the rest of the world predominantly 
the remainder of south east asia increased 
by 274 to 86m 2010 68m 
representing 65 of total sales for the year 
our local team based in hong kong is now 
managing our asia pacific business which is 
mostly served through our distributor network 
whilst we have had some tremendous 
success such as in south korea trading in 
singapore which represents less than 1 
of our total sales has been more difficult with 
little growth in the year due to government 
spending cuts
all the regional sales figures above exclude 
sales of 03m made by mitosciences 
which was acquired in may this year we 
are delighted to have acquired a company 
with skilled personnel in assay development 
capability and a product pipeline to build 
on its existing high quality mitochondrial 
research tools portfolio the integration of 
the business has gone well and over 200 
mitosciences products went live in the 
abcam catalogue at the beginning of july 
i have personally met the mitosciences 
team in oregon and was extremely 
impressed again i would like to take this 
opportunity to welcome them to abcam 
and thank them for their continuing 
commitment to the abcam mission
figure 1 regional revenue
 revenue in underlying currency revenue as reported in sterling
            201011 
       201011 200910  growth 201011 200910  of total
the americas      583m 502m 160 £367m £318m 442
europe excluding uk     €255m €225m 133 £218m £198m 263
uk       £63m £56m 108 £63m £56m 75
japan       ¥1183m ¥983m 204 £90m £68m 108
hong kongchina     hk481m hk343m 401 £39m £28m 47
rest of the world      86m 68m 274 £54m £43m 65
mitosciences      03m na na £02m na —
          £833m £711m 1000
 excluding reveune from mitosciences abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
13
continued growth what we’re doing
focus on adding 
product data
a key differentiator for abcam is the technical 
data that supports our products and a focus on 
adding value through product features continues 
to be a core element of the business strategy 
working with our inhouse laboratory this 
year we implemented a rigorous product 
characterisation project that tested over 3000 
antibodies in a combination of applications 
such as western blot and immunohistochemistry 
to meet customer demand and market trends 
we will extend testing to include more applications 
such as flow cytometry which also complement 
our extended product offering 
in addition to inhouse testing we are also 
able to characterise products through third 
party collaborations and we continue to work 
with our suppliers to ensure data is made 
available at the source 
“we are delighted at the 
rate we are able to test 
products and how quickly 
this new data becomes 
available on the website 
and impacts sales following 
the success of this project 
we are implementing 
similar testing for new 
product types”
david harvey senior laboratory technician
1317
images added to our portfolio 
during the year abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 14
catalogue growth and diversification
we have increased the number of products 
in the catalogue by 169 during the year 
to 73652 of which over 57000 are 
primary antibodies of the 10642 new 
products 7000 are primary antibodies 
from our supplier base and almost 500 
were our own produced antibodies in 
addition to adding over 1500 secondary 
antibodies we have continued to extend 
the breadth of antibodyrelated reagents 
we offer such as elisa kits ihc reagents 
and proteins the additions of which in the 
period totalled almost 1600 products
new products added during the year 
contributed £28m to sales in total 
representing 34 of total sales we 
expect sales of these products to grow 
as they mature on the catalogue and 
as information is added to them
ecommerce and marketing
as our main sales tool the performance 
of the website is key to our success and 
we have continued to invest to improve 
its security accessibility and functionality 
during the year we completed an exercise 
involving the relocation of our servers to a 
marketleading hosting facility in order to 
improve website scalability and resilience 
and to further reduce downtime 
we have also invested in the website 
specifically to promote nonprimary 
antibody products more effectively whilst 
also launching a record number of these 
products consequently we have seen 
an increase in data sheet viewings for 
nonprimary antibody products of over 
60 in the year indeed the transitioning 
from ‘the largest catalogue of the best 
antibodies in the world’ to a company 
with the potential to become a world 
leader in all protein research tools is 
underway as can be seen in changes to 
the public website where the homepage 
has been redesigned to support more 
product ranges and better identify and 
present crossselling opportunities
our conference programme continues 
to attract the key leaders in the fields 
with 200 key opinion leaders presenting 
cutting edge discoveries to over 2000 
delegates in total we held 18 conferences 
in 13 locations across all our core focus 
areas of particular note was our first 
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
continued growth what we’re doing
developing our business 
through communication
sound market intelligence and customer insight remain 
critically important to making well informed business 
decisions on new products and initiatives 
we have a dedicated market research team who 
conduct web and phone based surveys as well 
as inperson customer interviews in addition to 
monitoring customer satisfaction levels of products 
and services this team examines the viability of 
new markets and monitors abcam’s core business 
information is shared across business units and 
we ensure customer feedback is acted upon 
a key strength is the speed with which we are able 
to identify and assess opportunities and implement 
business strategies  abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
15
cancer and metabolism conference 
relevant for our mitosciences range and 
our epigenetics conferences which have 
a reputation as second to none new for 
the year was the introduction of a webinar 
series of online technical seminars and 
tutorials they complement our traditional 
conference programme and both combined 
are highly effective tools in staying close 
to our customers to guide product 
development improve our service 
offering and sell more products 
our production facility
having units in stock available for 
immediate shipment is a key component 
in our objective to improve delivery times 
for customers to that end we have focused 
this year on a project to increase stock 
levels for our own produced antibodies 
with the aim of holding sufficient levels to 
meet at least two years’ worth of sales for 
a targeted list covering most of our own 
manufactured products this aim is to 
reduce the risk of not having sufficient 
stock on hand to fulfil orders directly and 
also means that we can improve production 
efficiencies by being able to schedule 
production well in advance of the stock 
being required the project has gone well 
and is expected to be completed during 
the 201112 financial year
production in the year was again at record 
levels and improvements to our processes 
saw better project success rates and yields 
resulting in lower unit costs in particular 
we have also introduced new innovative 
screening technology which has been 
applied very successfully to the production 
of antibodies particularly those which 
have historically been harder to make 
the facility is also heavily involved in our 
strategy of adding data to the catalogue 
from a range of sources in the year under 
review the number of images added by 
the facility or specifically commissioned 
from third parties increased by over 100 
thanks to a major focus on increasing our 
inhouse capability
efficiency initiatives 
we continue to drive for more efficiency in 
the business and this year was no exception 
we are investing in two new compound 
machines to enable us to increase our 
“secondary antibodies 
are a natural extension 
to the catalogue 
to understand customer 
perception of products 
in this range and their 
purchasing behaviours we 
worked with the market 
research team to identify 
opportunities we have 
since sourced additional 
products to support the 
portfolio these are 
already on the catalogue 
and selling well”
annina hube cfa marketing coordinator
customer satisfaction 
is measured continuously 
via phone and web surveys 
in key regions and we have 
the capability to conduct 
these in local languages 
92
of customers rate abcam’s 
products as good or excellent
abcamplccomreports
distribution of products on the catalogue
  primary  
antibodies 57007
  secondary  
antibodies 2382
  proteins and 
peptides 10546
  other products 3717
images added in the year by application
1317
436
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
  immunocytochemistry
immunofluorescence
  immunohistochemistry 
 western blot
 flow cytometry
200910 201011 abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011 16
business review continued chief executive officer’s review
continued growth what we’re doing
acquisition of  
mitosciences
this year abcam acquired mitosciences a leading 
provider of mitochondrial research tools based in eugene 
usa their 200 products include high performance 
monoclonal antibodies and related products for use 
in metabolism research which complements abcam’s 
existing product range and customer base in this area
mitosciences has heavily invested in rd and is known 
for high quality easy to use and sophisticated assay 
products the acquisition extends abcam’s manufacturing 
and product development capabilities and supports our 
brand repositioning beyond antibodies 
combined with abcam’s existing product range and 
global market reach together we are a leading provider 
of tools for metabolism research worldwide
“the integration of 
mitosciences has been smooth 
from both an internal systems 
perspective and customer 
experience products were 
available via our website 
within six weeks we share 
the same values of product 
quality and customer support 
excellence which has also 
made transitioning easy”
elodie giuge corporate projects manager
“the mitosciences team is 
delighted with the level of 
integration we have been 
able to achieve in such a 
short time as well as aligning 
our systems and strategy 
we have worked to promote 
effective communication 
between offices we all look 
forward to a very successful 
future ahead”
john audette general manager mitosciences abcam plc annual report and accounts 2011
overview business review governance financial statements
17
product handling capacity one each in the 
uk and the us one of these was delivered 
installed and commissioned before the year 
end and the other will be brought into use 
early in 201112 together these machines 
almost double our minus 20 degree storage 
capacity the temperature at which the 
majority of our finished goods are held
it has taken many years of process 
improvement to achieve the high levels 
of efficiency at which we operate our 
primary antibody business the introduction 
of more new products to the catalogue 
presents challenges to which we are 
applying many of the techniques we 
have developed over time to limit any 
adverse impact on overall efficiency
strategic development 
we believe that abcam has the right 
strategy and positioning in the market 
to develop its worldleading antibody 
business into a broadly based global 
life science tools company delivering 
sustainable value creation for researchers 
and shareholders our success to date 
has been built on promoting feedback 
to identify our customers’ requirements 
and adapting our business to fulfil these 
in as efficient a way as possible whilst 
offering the broadest range of the highest 
quality products coupled with the best 
customer service and support this approach 
is ongoing and we continue to improve 
our offering for example by extending our 
product performance guarantee this year 
from four to six months from delivery 
we are proud of the fact that in feedback 
over 92 of our customers rate our service 
as good or excellent
our plan to build out from this position 
is already bearing fruit and nonprimary 
antibody product sales grew by over 
50 in the year now representing 85 
of total sales these early successes in 
protein research products that sit alongside 
antibodies on the research bench are 
extremely encouraging and justify our faith 
in our expansion strategy we are therefore 
excited about our prospects in building out 
the extended catalogue both organically 
through partnering and perhaps through 
ma activity
however we should not be blind to the 
challenges that lie ahead over 80 of our 
sales are funded by public money mainly 
through research grants and we have seen 
cuts in public spending in order to reduce 
budget deficits especially in the us and 
the uk which will provide headwinds for 
abcam in the short to medium term 
although the world economic climate 
looks uncertain for the next few years the 
fundamentals of the markets that abcam 
serves remain the same the inexorable 
rise in mankind’s desire for knowledge 
about how cells function and how they 
go wrong in disease will continue to drive 
demand for high quality validated research 
tools abcam remains perfectly positioned 
to be able to meet that demand 
abcam continues to focus on geographic 
expansion in markets where funding is 
increasing such as china and on selling a 
greater breadth of products required by our 
customers to carry out their protein research 
the commitment and excellence of 
abcam’s staff continually impresses 
and delights me again i would like to 
warmly thank all our staff worldwide for 
their commitment to abcam’s success 
both now and into the future
finally we must never forget that our 
customers’ continuous drive for discovery 
and abcam’s enabling products services 
and technologies that help facilitate that 
discovery remain central to our past and 
future success our staff together with our 
products services and technologies are 
central to achieving our goal of enabling 
our customers to discover more
jonathan milner
chief executive officer
12 september 2011