ant plc
annual report  accounts
for the year ended 31 december 2009
enabling and delivering nextgeneration tv experiences contents
operational and financial highlights 3
hybrid broadcast broadband tv hbbtv 4
chairmans statement 5
chief executive officers review 6
board of directors 10
corporate governance report 12
directors report 14
directors remuneration report 17
independent auditors report  group 19
consolidated income statement 20
consolidated balance sheet 21
consolidated statement of changes in equity 21
consolidated statement of cash flows 22
notes to the financial statements 23
independent auditors report  ant plc 43
company balance sheet  uk gaap 44
notes to the financial statements  uk gaap 45
notice of annual general meeting 48
form of proxy 51
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009   1 2 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
“we have been extremely encouraged by
the significant licence deals signed in 2009
especially with leading satellite and cable
organisations these deals represent our
entry into high volume tv markets we
expect initial rollout in these sectors to
commence during the second half of 2010
driving both revenue growth and a general
increase in market awareness of the
potential of hybrid tv
a further significant development was the
adoption of web services by the hybrid
freetoair market which has the potential
to far outstrip that of the operator market
whilst at an early stage ant has a pivotal
role to play in the future development of
web services within the freetoair market
through its central position in initiatives such
as hbbtv
although the timing of the acceleration point
for these markets remains unclear ant was
profitable in the second half and continues
to reduce its losses and grow its revenues
for the full year within a challenging
economic environment and therefore we
continue to view the future with confidence” operational highlights
• strong trading performance in challenging economic environment
• operating profit generated in the second half of the year
• galio licences signed in two new mainstream high volume digital tv
markets – satellite and cable
• first units shipped into the retail distributed freetoair market in
germany
• mainstream tv’s adoption of the web service tv model broadens
the market for the ant galio platform
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  3
financial highlights 2009 2008  change
£000 £000
revenue 4699 3741 26
gross margin 87 83 5
operating costs 4796 4439 8
loss before tax 627 1013  38
cash and other financial assets 5050 5649 11
cash outflow 599 562 6 4 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
hybrid broadcast broadband tv hbbtv
hbbtv hybrid broadcast broadband tv combines the richness
of broadcast with the flexibility of broadband content through
connected tvs and settop boxes the hbbtv initiative
provides broadcasters device manufacturers and third parties
with the ability to build advanced interactive services that can
be deployed on receivers sold through retail channels as well as
on receivers subsidised by paytv operators announced in
august 2009 hbbtv’s initial focus has been on the german
and french markets the first hbbtv devices went on sale in
germany in december 2009 using the ant galio hbbtv
platform
the launch of hbbtv responds to a number of key market
developments the worldwide move from analogue to digital an
increasing number of highdefinition broadcasts decreasing tv
advertising spend and growing adoption of highbandwidth
broadband services
what does hbbtv deliver
• consumers have access to enhanced videotext services 
more suited to hd tv displays than existing services with 
interactive video clips and hd text
• broadcasters can provide programme guides for selected 
channels
• users can access catchup tv content to view popular 
programmes again 
• video on demand content is available to play or download  
through online video stores or portals such as the ant 
managed service portal
june 2009
humax licences ant galio platform
august 2009
hbbtv initiative announced to the industry
december 2009
humax deploys first ever hbbtv retail fta
boxes in germany
• interactive games and quizzes can be accessed either as 
part of a standard broadcast or independently via the portal
• broadcasters can regularly and simply introduce new tv
services 
what is the relevance to ant
• ant offers a complete hbbtv platform solution for device 
manufacturers
• reduce time to market
• ant is a founder member of the hbbtv steering group
standards drive volumes
• broadcasters can invest confidently in standardsbased 
content creation and delivery
• guarantee of available content encourages device volume ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  5
chairman’s statement
ant enjoyed another year of solid progress revenue grew by
26 per cent with continued stringent control of overheads
and cash loss before tax was reduced by 38 per cent and
the second half generated the business’ first operational
profit the digital television market continues to develop at a
fast pace driven by consumer demand for additional services
and capabilities from digital television providers while the
recession has had some impact on our customers and their
deployments with royalties being lower than planned the
year was marked by the adoption of the web service tv
model by mainstream tv a model supported by the ant
galio platform and launched in germany during the year
ant has developed a platform for growth built on an
extensive range of customers made up predominately of tier
one and tier two television device manufacturer licensees
collectively these licensees are expected to drive the future
growth of the tv market and the expansion of services
delivered via the tv 
we are seeing evidence that web service technology will form
the foundation for tv service deployment across all the major
sectors cable satellite and freetoair and we were
delighted to have signed licensing contracts in all three of
these sectors during the year 
over a number of years ant has gained a strong reputation
as a leader in the use of web services in tv ant is very well
positioned to capitalise on this strength through the
deployment of its web service enabled products as its
customers support this change in the market all of these
factors combine to give the board continued confidence in
ant’s future growth
i would like to thank bruce anderson who left the board in
may 2009 for his contribution to the board in general and in
particular his chairing of the audit committee and
membership of the remuneration committee
on behalf of the board i would also like to thank all of our
employees for their commitment and contribution to the
continued development of the business in the last year
royston hoggarth
chairman
1 march 2010 chief executive officer’s review
introduction
ant is a leading provider of software and services for the
delivery of digital tv deriving its revenue from a license and
royalty model 2009 was another year of encouraging growth 
for ant in a challenging economic environment revenues
increased by 26 per cent while loss before tax was reduced by
38 per cent and cash reserves have continued to be tightly
managed the company made an operating profit in the second
half of the year ant has continued to build a strong position in
the tv market signing strategically important new deals in the
year confirming the relevance of ant’s products across all tv
sectors
consumers drive the development of new tv services
increasingly today’s consumer expects media devices to be
connected and to be able to merge online media with other
media sources the specification of tv consumer electronics
products increasingly reflects this demand with more and more
products offering access to web based services such as iplayer
videoondemand social networking and online games while
tv operators and broadcasters experiment with new services to
build an understanding of what constitutes a compelling
consumer tv experience it is becoming increasingly clear that
web services will be at the heart of this change in the
consumer’s use of media
television web services model enables consumer demand 
to be met
television web services are a new generation of tv services
based on highly flexible servicedevelopment techniques
pioneered in the world wide web the use of a web services
model provides tv operators and broadcasters with significant
reductions in tv service development time and cost such is the
flexibility of this approach that the look and feel of tv services
can be changed regularly and new services can be introduced
and withdrawn as and when an operator broadcaster or even
the consumer chooses the use of web service technology is
being further accelerated through the increased use of hybrid tv
devices which are simultaneously able to combine the benefits
of broadband and traditional mechanisms of tv service delivery 
through the ant galio platform the company is well positioned
to exploit this growing momentum in web services tv 
6 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 financial review
revenue for the year increased 26 to £47m 2008 £37m
licence and royalty revenue rose by 28 to £37m 2008
£29m due to the broadened product range and increase in
total customer numbers professional services revenue
increased 17 to £10m 2008 £09m 
while the number of licences signed in 2009 was the 
same as last year 14 the average potential size of the
deployments for which these licences will be used has
increased significantly this gives us great confidence for
growth in the number of future unit shipments 
the total number of units shipped during the year reduced 
by 8 to 29m units 2008 32m due mainly to market
conditions and some delay in silicon chip production however
we are pleased to report an underlying increase of 22 in
revenue generating shipments as prepaid units were
substantially reduced the market conditions inevitably
impacted our customers and the number of customers
shipping over 100000 units reduced to 7 2008 9 despite
the challenging economic environment we are pleased to see
customers returning to us to license additional elements of our
product portfolio to enable them to respond quickly to
requirements  
gross margins increased to 87 2008 83 due to the
increase in license and royalty revenue in the product mix
which has a lower associated cost of sales in addition the
cost to deliver professional services has been reduced during
the year through the use of shortterm employees rather than
more expensive external contractors as had been used
previously
operating costs increased 8 to £48m 2008 £44m with all
but £003m of this increase relating to the impact of foreign
exchange charges on the income statement spending on
rd excluding customer funded elements increased by 2
to £248m 2008 £243m and share option charges were
broadly unchanged at £002m 2008 £001m the average
headcount for the year increased to 52 200847
the company remains focused on managing both its cost
base and its working capital with the second half of the year
producing an operating profit this is in line with the seasonal
nature of the business and was in line with the directors’
expectations
the average sterlingus dollar rate for the year was 160
2008 180 approximately 97 of the group’s business in
the year was conducted outside the uk 2008 90 the
majority of which was denominated in us dollars therefore the
drop in the exchange rate had a significant impact on group
revenues 
losses before tax were reduced by 38 to £06m 2008 £10m
driven by the growth in revenues  
cash and cash equivalents and other financial assets at 
31 december 2009 were £505m 2008 £565m
the group received an rd tax credit during the year relating
to 2007 and 2008 in prior years only one year’s cash was
received during each financial year resulting in an increase of
£02m to total cash inflows which will not be repeated in
future years income from interest deposits was £008m 2008
£032m due to a fall in interest rates 
the group has unrecognised tax losses available to be offset
against future profits of £105m 2008 £106m 
the directors are not recommending the payment of a final
dividend
the board considers group revenue group loss before tax
cash and cash equivalents and unit shipments to be the key
performance indicators which are the most effective measures
of the progress towards achieving the group’s objectives
market review
we have seen a significant broadening of our market during
the year ant’s belief has always been that the digital tv
market’s evolution would see the convergence of terrestrial
satellite cable and broadband delivered television ant’s
product and marketing strategy is now successfully taking
advantage of this convergence through the provision of its
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  7 chief executive officer’s review
continued
web services platform and application products these products
are compatible with all major tv network structures and device
types thus maximising ant’s opportunity across the whole tv
market
the following examples of market development have had a
significant positive impact on our business and bode well for
future growth prospects  
growing market for hybrid devices
there is a growing requirement from tv broadcasters and
operators for settopboxes to have hybrid capabilities
combining in a single settopbox the ability to receive television
services via the internet as well as via traditional broadcast
delivery channels cable satellite and terrestrial our ant galio
platform has been specifically developed to support hybrid set
topbox requirements and we have seen a considerable increase
in the level of interest in the ant galio platform this hybrid
format allows broadcasters and operators to deliver additional
services over broadband reducing churn and increasing average
revenue per unit arpu broadcasters in germany for example
are using this capability to migrate from traditional teletext to hd
digital text and rich web based services including ondemand
video hybrid devices are now mainstream in the market with
web services seeing rapid consumer take up
a compelling example of this development was the launch in
august 2009 of a new industry initiative called hybrid broadcast
broadband tv hbbtv a cross industry initiative aimed at
harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of content to
the end consumer through tvs and settop boxes as one of the
initial members ant has played a key role in developing the
specification with european industry leaders including
broadcasters canal france televisions and tf1 german
research institute institut für rundfunktechnik and satellite
operator ses astra
ant’s involvement in hbbtv has lead to a number of new and
existing customers licensing the ant galio hbbtv platform a
complete gotomarket solution providing full support for hbbtv
services in december 2009 humax became the first device
manufacturer to launch an hbbtv retail settop box this was
based on the ant galio hbbtv platform
market broadening into satellite and cable new licences
with arab media corporation amc and cisco
satellite and cable operators are now recognising the benefits
of a web based tv service model providing ant with the
opportunity of successfully targeting these high volume
markets this again has resulted in an increased level of interest
in our ant galio platform and during 2009 we signed new
licences with arab media corporation amc the satellite tv
operator and owner of arab radio and television art and
cisco’s cable tv division  
the agreement with cisco is an extension of our existing
licence enabling them to use the ant galio platform across its
mainstream cable market solutions in addition to the existing
iptv licence cisco has already begun deploying units in an
iptv environment based on ant’s products this latest
development will see our software used to target a significantly
bigger already established mainstream market 
we have licensed ant galio browser and ant galio core
applications to amc our first tierone satellite operator which
covers 26 countries in the middle east and north africa for its
new service which is due to be launched in 2010 
operational review
supporting industry standards
standards are central to the shaping of an industry and enable 
a market to mature ant has a strong heritage in developing
standardsbased solutions which we believe are vital to the
delivery of high volume deployments we therefore continue to
support a number of important industry standards actively
contributing to the open iptv forum oipf the digital tv
group dtg and the digital video broadcasting project dvb 
as well as the recently launched hbbtv initiative described
above we were also accepted during the year as a member of
the prestigious european telecommunications standards
institute etsi  
delivering new services
we are seeing an increasing number of device manufacturers
aiming to differentiate their product offerings by providing
additional content and services to their customers these are
8 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 often delivered via a portal which provides access to a wide
range of content such as news information and entertainment
at the ibc show in september 2009 we demonstrated a
managed service concept a scalable ondemand tv and
web services delivery platform which meets this emerging
industry requirement 
outlook
we have been extremely encouraged by the significant licence
deals signed in 2009 especially with leading satellite and cable
organisations these deals represent our entry into high volume
tv markets we expect initial rollout in these sectors to
commence during the second half of 2010 driving both
revenue growth and a general increase in market awareness of
the potential of hybrid tv 
a further significant development was the adoption of web
services by the hybrid freetoair market which has the
potential to far outstrip that of the operator market whilst still
at an early stage ant has a pivotal role to play in the future
development of web services within the freetoair market
through its central position in initiatives such as hbbtv 
although the timing of the acceleration point for these markets
remains unclear ant was profitable in the second half and
continues to reduce its losses and grow its revenues for the full
year within a challenging economic environment and therefore
we continue to view the future with confidence
simon woodward
chief executive officer
1 march 2010
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  9 board 
of directors
royston hoggarth
nonexecutive chairman
royston joined ant as nonexecutive chairman in
march 2007 he has a wealth of industry experience
having held a variety of senior management and ceo
roles in ibm logicacmc cable  wireless plc and
bt royston holds a bschons in communications
from london university
tudor brown
nonexecutive director
tudor joined ant as a nonexecutive director in may
2005 and became senior independent director in may
2006 one of the founders of arm tudor is president
of arm holdings plc he was at acorn computers
where he worked on the arm rd programme
before becoming arms engineering director and
chief technical officer in 1993 in 2000 he was
appointed executive vice president global
development during which he was responsible for
arms successful strategic development in the far
east and served as chief operating officer from 2001
until 2008 tudor holds an ma in electrical sciences
from cambridge university and is a fellow of the
institution of engineering and technology
david kynaston
nonexecutive director
david joined ant as a nonexecutive director in
january 2005 david has 35 years experience in the
electronics industry including positions in scientific
research through to operational and strategic
management he was executive senior vice president
at solectron corporation a provider of electronics
manufacturing and supply chain services a position
from which he retired in january 2002 prior to joining
solectron david was business unit director business
communications systems at philips electronics david
was recently a nonexecutive director of achievo
corporation an offshore software and information
technology outsourcing provider
10 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
simon woodward
president and chief executive officer
simon woodward joined ant in 1997 as chief
executive and is responsible for developing and
executing its commercial strategy in 2005 he led ant
to a successful public offering on the london stock
exchange aim prior to joining ant simon ran an
information technology management consulting
company he has more than 25 years’ experience in a
range of business disciplines including accounting
engineering and marketing simon initially trained as an
accountant and in 1983 joined acorn computer group
in the uk where he held various senior managerial
positions in rd marketing and business
development pauline ingram
group finance director
pauline joined ant in june 2004 and was appointed
as finance director to the trading company ant
software in july 2007 and then to group finance
director of ant plc in february 2008 pauline has a ba
hons in business studies from de montfort university
leicester and is a fellow of the association of
chartered certified accountants prior to joining ant
she has worked in a variety of sectors including
automotive pharmaceuticals telematics and
manufacturing
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  11
directors and advisers
directors
r hoggarth
s a woodward
p ingram
t brown
d kynaston
b anderson resigned 21 may 2009
secretary
m lobo
auditors
ernst  young llp
compass house
80 newmarket road
cambridge
cb5 8dz
bankers
barclays bank
58 high street
newmarket
suffolk
cb8 8nh
legal advisers
charles russell llp
8–10 new fetter lane
london 
ec4a 1rs
nominated adviser and broker
arbuthnot securities limited
arbuthnot house
20 ropemaker street
london 
ec2y 9ar
registrars
computershare investor services plc
po box 82
the pavillions
bridgewater road
bristol
bs99 7nh
registered office
cambridge business park
cowley road
cambridge
cb4 0wz
registered no 05372859 corporate governance report
compliance with the combined code
under the rules of aim the alternative investment market of
the london stock exchange the group is not required to
comply with the combined code as annexed to the listing
rules of the financial services authority nevertheless the
group has taken steps to comply with the provisions set out
in section 1 of the code in so far as is practical given the
size of the group and the nature of its operations   
board of directors
as at the year end the board consisted of the nonexecutive
chairman two nonexecutive directors and two executive
directors and demonstrate a range of experience covering
strategy performance and resources which are vital to the
success of the business mr tudor brown is the senior
director details of the directors’ are shown on page 1011
the board meets each month to consider those matters
which are required to be brought to it for decision which
ensures that it maintains full and effective control over
appropriate strategic financial operational and compliance
issues directors receive an information pack in the week
before each board meeting which contains background
information on such matters
board committees
there are three board committees which deal with
remuneration audit and nominations to the board they are
comprised solely of the nonexecutive directors with certain
executive directors attending by invitation when required
david kynaston is the chairman of the remuneration and
nominations committees and royston hoggarth is the
chairman of the audit committee  
the audit committee meets at least once a year and the
company’s external auditors are invited to attend the
meeting consideration is given to the auditors’ pre and
postaudit reports and these provide opportunities to review
the accounting policies internal control assessment and the
financial information contained in the annual report
relations with shareholders
the company’s executive directors meet regularly with
institutional shareholders fund managers and analysts as
part of an active investor relations programme to discuss
longterm issues and obtain feedback private investors are
encouraged to participate in the annual general meeting
internal control
the directors acknowledge that they are responsible for the
group’s systems of internal control and for reviewing its
effectiveness  the system is designed to manage rather than
eliminate the risk of failure to achieve the group’s strategic
objectives and can only provide reasonable and not absolute
assurance against material misstatement or loss
the combined code requires directors to review the
effectiveness of the group’s system of internal control in the
wider sense encompassing operational and compliance
matters in addition to the traditional financial issues
the group’s key risk management processes and system of
internal control procedures include the following
• management structure – the group has an 
organisational structure with clearly established 
responsibilities and lines of accountability authority to 
operate the subsidiary company is delegated to executive 
board members within limits set by the board as a whole
the group promotes the values of integrity and 
professionalism
• identification and evaluation of business risk – an 
ongoing risk management process has been implemented
which identifies the key business risks facing the group 
including both financial and operational risks the board 
monitors the activities of the group through the 
management accounts monthly forecasts and other 
reports which are presented at the monthly board 
meeting
• investment appraisal – the board has a schedule of 
matters expressly reserved for its consideration
the board reviews and continues to review the effectiveness
of the group’s procedure in managing risk and therefore
12 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 believes it meets the requirements of the guidance
the audit committee has considered the need for internal
audit it is of the opinion that given the size and nature of the
group’s operations and the other controls in place it is not
necessary at this time this matter will be reviewed formally
on an annual basis
going concern
the company’s business activities and the factors likely to
affect its future development and performance are set out in
the chief executive officers report on pages 6 to 9 the
financial position of the company its cash flows liquidity
position and borrowing facilities are described in the
directors’ report on pages 14 to 16 in addition notes 1 to
27 in the financial statements include the company’s
objectives policies and processes for managing its capital
its financial risk management objectives details of its
financial instruments and hedging activities and its
exposures to credit risk and liquidity risk 
the company has considerable financial resources together
with existing contracts with a number of customers across
different geographic areas as a consequence the directors
believe that the company is well placed to manage its
business risks successfully despite the current uncertain
economic outlook
the directors have a reasonable expectation that the
company has adequate resources to continue in operational
existence for the foreseeable future thus they continue to
adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing
the annual financial statements
royston hoggarth
1 march 2010
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  13 directors’ report
the directors present their report and financial statements for
the year ended 31 december 2009
results and dividends
the consolidated loss for the year before taxation
amounted to £627428 2008 £1012955 the directors do
not recommend the payment of a dividend 2008 £nil
principal activity and review of the business
the group’s principal activity during the year continued to be
the development and licensing of software solutions for use
in the digital tvrelated consumer electronics market  
the group’s key financial and other performance indicators
during the year were as follows
2009 2008  
£’000 £’000 change
group revenue 4699 3741 26
group loss before tax 627 1013 38
cash  cash equivalents  
and other financial assets 5050 5649 11
no of antenabled product  
units shipped ‘000 2916 3181 8
further details of the business review are contained in the
chief executive officer’s review on pages 6–9
capital management
the primary objective of the group’s capital management is
to ensure an appropriate level of liquid resources is available
to fund the daily operations of the business  management
considers cash and working capital to be what they monitor
as capital at the time of the company’s ipo march 2005
£103m was raised net of expenses via the issue of new
equity to fund foreseen development at this time the
directors do not foresee any requirement to raise additional
capital on the basis that they consider that the group has
sufficient cash resources until the group reaches profitability
unutilised funds at the yearend totalled £50m of which
£30m are invested in termed deposits with a minimum
credit rating from fitch of “ a” to ensure maximum return for
minimal risk 2008 £40m of £56m invested in fixed term
deposits further discussion relating to financial risk
management objectives and exposures is covered in note
18 to the accounts 
principal risks and uncertainties
• foreign currency risk
the majority of the group’s revenues are denominated in
us dollars while its costs are principally denominated in
sterling as a result the group is subject to the risks of
foreign currency movements this risk will increasingly be
managed through the judicious use of foreign currency
forward contracts
• market and technological risk
the tvrelated consumer electronics market is a young and
rapidly developing market in which the group holds a strong
position with a reputation in the market for its innovative
and robust technological solutions maintenance of that
position is dependent on the group’s ability to continue to
develop its solutions while the directors regard the market
as providing significant opportunities for long term growth
the exact rate and extent of the growth of that market is
very difficult to predict the group will continue to utilise its
strong asset position to invest in carefully targeted
technological development to address the market’s needs
and opportunities
research and development
the group undertakes continuous research and
development activities in order to bring new innovations to
market and to enhance the effectiveness of its software
solutions in the consumer electronics market expenditure
on research and development in 2009 amounted to
£2656329 2008 £2614695 of this £179879 
2008 £186680 is customer funded and included within
cost of sales
creditor payment policy
the company does not have a written code or standard on
payment practice  it negotiates settlement terms with each
of its suppliers and payments are then made to suppliers in
accordance with those terms provided the supplier has
carried out the agreed obligations in a satisfactory manner
at the year end the group had 28 days’ purchases
14 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 outstanding in trade creditors 2008 42 days
overseas branches
ant software limited a subsidiary company of ant plc
has a branch in korea the korean branch has been set up
on a cost plus basis to enable the group to have a sales
function in the region
charitable donations
during the year the group made a charitable donation of
£1000 2008 £100
disabled employees
the group gives full consideration to applications for
employment from disabled persons where the candidate’s
particular aptitudes and abilities are consistent with
adequately meeting the requirements of the job       
directors’ indemnity insurance
the group has granted an indemnity to one or more of its
directors against liability in respect of proceedings bought
by third parties subject to the conditions set out in the
companies act 2006 such qualifying third party indemnity
provision remains in force as at the date of approving the
directors’ report
directors
the current directors and those who served during the year
are shown on pages 1011 the directors who held office at 
31 december 2009 had the following interests including
beneficial family interests in the share capital of the
company  
31 dec 2009 31 dec 2008
ordinary shares ordinary shares
r hoggarth  
t brown 28800 28800
d kynaston 28800 28800
s a woodward 157835 97835
p ingram 22000 22000
in addition to the above interests directors had options to
purchase a number of shares as set out in the directors’
remuneration report
substantial shareholdings
as at 15 january 2010 the following shareholders had
notified the company that they held an investment of 3 or
more in the company’s ordinary share capital
number of percentage
ordinary of ordinary 
shares share capital
axa framlington investment 
management
3125000 1287
richard farleigh 3039767 1252
ant plc employee share trust 2728497 1123
foresight venture partners 2643192 1088
fidelity investments 2428636 1000
blackrock investment management 2254706 928
invesco asset management 1217620 501
inflexion partners limited 732472 302
disclosure of information to the auditors
the directors who were members of the board at the time of
approving the directors’ report are listed on pages 1011
having made enquiries of fellow directors and the group’s
auditors each of these directors confirms that
• to the best of each director’s knowledge and belief 
there is no information relevant to the preparation of 
their report of which the group’s auditors are unaware 
and
• each director has taken all the steps a director might 
reasonably be expected to have taken to be aware of 
relevant information and to establish that the group’s 
auditors are aware of that information
auditors
a resolution to reappoint ernst  young llp as the
company’s auditor will be put to the forthcoming annual
general meeting
on behalf of the board
s a woodward
director
1 march 2010
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  15 directors’ report continued
directors’ responsibilities
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 have prepared the financial statements in
accordance with international financial reporting standards
ifrss as adopted by the european union under company
law the directors must not approve the financial statements
unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of
the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of
the company for that period in preparing these financial
statements the directors are required to
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them 
consistently
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are 
reasonable and prudent
• state whether applicable ifrss as adopted by the 
european union have been followed subject to any 
material departures disclosed and explained in the 
financial statements 
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern 
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 
company will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain
the companys 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 united
kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of
financial statements may differ from legislation in other
jurisdictions
16 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 directors’ remuneration report
the remuneration committee comprises of david kynaston
tudor brown and royston hoggarth all of whom are non
executive directors of the company
the board has accepted the remuneration committee’s
recommendations in full
under the aim rules the company is not required to prepare
a remuneration report nevertheless the company has
elected to provide the following information voluntarily 
remuneration policy
the remuneration policy is based on the need to offer
competitive packages to attract motivate and retain senior
executives of appropriate calibre regular reviews of the
policy are carried out supported by independent advice to
ensure that the range and level of emoluments and incentive
schemes continue to match current market practices
salary
salaries are measured against performance and market
medians
annual performance bonus
the service agreements provide that each executive director
shall be entitled to receive an annual bonus to be
determined by the remuneration committee based on the
group’s financial and operational performance
service agreements
the service agreements for simon woodward and pauline
ingram are terminable by both parties by giving 12 months’
and 6 months’ notice respectively
benefits
executive directors along with other permanent employees
of the company are entitled to life assurance and
permanent health insurance  in addition to this they are
able to select additional benefits covering a pension private
medical cover and critical illness or disability insurance up to
a value of 10 of basic salary 
the pension scheme is a defined contribution scheme and
requires a minimum contribution of 5 of salary from the
employee before any contributions will be made by the
company
nonexecutive directors
the fees of the nonexecutive directors are determined by
the executive directors  nonexecutive directors receive
travel expenses but do not participate in any incentive
arrangements the nonexecutive directors have entered into
terms of appointment with initial 3 year terms terminable by
either party upon 1 month’s notice in writing
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  17 18 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
basic salary benefits bonus pension total total
contributions 2009 2008
££ £ £ £ £
executive directors
s a woodward 165600 2893 24500 13667 206660 229367
p ingram 
1
90000  11410 9000 110410 87834
non executive directors
r hoggarth 51250    51250 45000
d kynaston 25625    25625 22500
t brown 25625    25625 22500
b k anderson 
2
15000    15000 30000
373100 2893 35910 22667 434570 437201
1 appointed 28th february 2008 – in addition to that shown for 2008 £10833 represents total remuneration for the period prior to being appointed as a 
director of ant plc
2 appointed 24th january 2008 resigned 21st may 2009
the interest of the directors in share options is detailed below
date of grant as at  granted exercised lapsed as at
1 jan 2009 31 dec 2009
simon woodward 1820695 100000 60000 125600 1735095
pauline ingram 227717 58000    20500 265217
2048412 158000 60000146100 2000312
director revenue date number exercise vesting expiry 
status granted granted price p date date
s a woodward approved 07032005 117647 8500 07032005 07032015
s a woodward unapproved 07032005 1304145 8500 02072004 07032015
s a woodward unapproved 16032005 213303 12600 16032005 07032015
s a woodward unapproved 17032008 100000 2250 17032011 17032018
s a woodward 
1
approved 06102009 51948 3850 06102012 06102019
s a woodward 
1
unapproved 06102009 48052 3850 06102012 06102019
p ingram approved 07032005 7217  9500 07032005 07032015
p ingram approved 30032007 12500 4150 30032010 30032017
p ingram approved 17032008 200000 2250 17032011 17032018
p ingram approved 14042009 8000 2450 14042012 14042019
p ingram approved 06102009 50000 3850 06102012 06102019
1
the options granted during the year to sa woodward had additional vesting criteria based on a revenue target for 2009 that was not met 
therefore these options lapsed on 31 december 2009
options granted after march 2005 vest over a three year period are subject to continued employment with the company for
the duration of this period and corporate performance criteria based on an increase in group revenues over that period
the options expire after 10 years and there are no cash settlement alternatives the share price at the year end was 29p
the highest and lowest market price during the year for the ordinary shares was 525p and 215p respectively
during the year the number of options exercised by the directors was 60000 2008 nil which had a total exercise value of
£3 this gave an aggregate gain of £15597 during the period 25600 options with an exercise price of 085p and a total
exercise value of £21760 held by sa woodward lapsed
d kynaston
1 march 2010
directors remuneration  independent auditor’s report to
the members of ant plc
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  19
we have audited the group financial statements of ant plc for
the year ended 31 december 2009 which comprise
consolidated income statement consolidated statement of
comprehensive income consolidated balance sheet the
consolidated statement of changes in equity consolidated
statement of cash flows and the related notes 1 to 27 the
financial reporting framework that has been applied in their
preparation is applicable law and international financial
reporting standards ifrs’s 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 auditors
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities
statement set out on page 16 the directors are responsible for
the preparation of the group financial statements and for being
satisfied that they give a true and fair view  our responsibility is
to audit the group 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 circumstances and have been
consistently applied and adequately disclosed the
reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by 
the directors and the overall presentation of the financial
statements
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion the group financial statements
• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s affairs as 
at 31 december 2009 and of its loss for the year then 
ended
• have been properly prepared in accordance with ifrss as 
adopted by the european union and
• 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 group financial statements are
prepared is consistent with the group 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
• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by 
law are not made or
• we have not received all the information and explanations 
we require for our audit
other matter
we have reported separately on the parent company financial
statements of ant plc for the year ended 31 december 2009
tony mccartney senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of ernst young llp  statutory auditor
cambridge
1 march 2010 consolidated income statement
for the year ended 31 december
20 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
2009 2008
notes £ £
revenue 5 4698510 3741002
cost of sales 614210 632528
gross profit 4084300 3108474
administrative expenses 2319675 2010690
research and development expenses 6 2476450 2428015
loss from operations 6 711825 1330231
finance revenue 10 84397 317276
loss before tax 627428 1012955
tax on loss on ordinary activities 11 63700 98477
loss for the year 563728 914478
basic and diluted loss per ordinary share 12 003 004
all activities relate to continuing activities
2009 2008
notes £ £
net income for the year 563728 914478
other comprehensive income for the year  
total comprehensive income for the year 563728 914478
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 31 december ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  21
called up share merger retained total
share capital premium account losses equity
££ £ £ £
at january 1st 2008 1214318 12066990 9787208 16490275 6578241
total comprehensive income    914478 914478
sharebased payments    14668 14668
at january 1st 2009 1214318 12066990 9787208 17390085 5678431
total comprehensive income    563728 563728
sharebased payments    15293 15293
at 31st december 2009 1214318 12066990 9787208 17938520 5129996
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 31 december
2009 2008
notes £ £
noncurrent assets
intangible assets 13 34495 48468
property plant and equipment 14 116139 100687
150634 149155
current assets
trade and other receivables 15 1551428 1489567
income tax recoverable  214404
other financial assets 16 3000000 3500000
cash and cash equivalents 16 2050217 2148752
6601645 7352723
total assets 6752279 7501878
current liabilities 
trade and other payables 17 1622283 1823447
net assets 5129996 5678431
capital and reserves
called up share capital 20 1214318 1214318
share premium account 12066990 12066990
merger reserve 9787208 9787208
retained losses 17938520 17390085
total equity 5129996 5678431
the financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 1st march 2010 
they were signed on its behalf by
consolidated balance sheet
as at 31 december
s a woodward
director
1st march 2010 consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 31 december
22 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
2009 2008
notes £ £
cash flows from operating activities
loss before tax 627428 1012955
finance revenue 10 84397 317276
loss on disposal of property plant and equipment 99 1689
loss on disposal of intangible assets  181
depreciation of property plant and equipment 14 72371 74822
amortisation of intangible assets 13 24444 22905
foreign exchange differences 17448 43810
sharebased payments charge 21 15293 14668
increase in trade and other receivables 64413 227081
decrease  increase  in trade and other payables 201164 609643
cash used in operating activities 847747 877214
foreign withholding tax paid 11 142095 115927
research and development tax credit 420199 152991
net cash used in operating activities 569643 840150
cash flows from investing activities
interest received 86949 313156
purchase of property plant and equipment 14 87922 57179
purchase of intangible assets 13 10471 21912
disposal of other financial assets 500000 500000
net cash generated from investing activities 488556 734065
net decrease in cash and cash equivalents 81087 106085
foreign exchange differences 17448 43810
opening cash and cash equivalents 2148752 2211027 
closing cash and cash equivalents 16 23 2050217 2148752 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  23
notes to the financial statements
as at 31 december 2009
1 corporate information
ant plc is a public limited company incorporated in the
united kingdom the address of the registered office is
cambridge business park cowley road cambridge
cambridgeshire cb4 0wz ant plc’s shares are publicly
traded on aim the alternative investment market of the
london stock exchange
2 basis of preparation and statement of compliance
the group’s financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with international financial reporting standards
ifrss as adopted by the european union as they apply to
the financial statements of the group for the year ended 31
december 2009
the accounting policies which follow set out those policies
which apply in preparing the financial statements for the year
ended 31 december 2009 
the consolidated financial statements have been prepared
under the historical cost convention and are presented in
sterling
basis of consolidation
the consolidated financial statements comprise the financial
statement of ant plc and its subsidiaries as at 31 december
each year the financial statements of the subsidiaries are
prepared for the same reporting year as the parent company
and are based on consistent accounting policies 
all intercompany balances and transactions have been
eliminated in full
3 significant judgements and major sources of
estimation uncertainty
judgements are made in relation to sharebased payment
costs requiring the selection of an appropriate valuation
model consideration as to the inputs necessary for the
valuation model chosen and the estimation of the number of
awards that will ultimately vest inputs for which arise from
judgements relating to the probability of meeting nonmarket
performance conditions and the continuing participation of
employees see note 21
research costs are not capitalised development costs
however will be capitalised from the point that it is sufficiently
certain that future economic benefits to the group will cover all
selling administration and support costs as well as the
development costs themselves however the group has not
currently achieved this position the board will continue to
review the nature of the group’s development activities on an
ongoing basis and consider whether the conditions are being
satisfied research and development costs include work
completed on generic ant products and customer specific
modifications
4 accounting policies
a revenue
revenue represents amounts receivable for goods and
services provided in the normal course of business net of
trade discounts vat and other sales related taxes  amounts
receivable consist of royalties licence fees professional
services and support and maintenance payments 
revenue is recognised for any element of a sale when all of the
basic criteria are met for that element these are given below   
licence fees and royalties – revenue is recognised when
persuasive evidence for the arrangement exists delivery has
occurred fees are fixed or determinable non refundable and
require no further commitments with fee collection being
probable  royalties are recognised on receipt of appropriate
third party evidence
professional services – invoiced in line with customer
contracts and recognised on the basis of work performed
where contracts indicate time and materials as the basis for
charges revenue is recognised directly in line with work
completed  where this is not the case project plans detailing
resource requirement during a project are used to establish
percentage completion at any point in time  
revenue is accrued on the above elements when revenue can
be recognised but has not been invoiced
revenue is deferred on the above elements when it has not
been recognised but the invoice has been raised
revenue relating to contracts with multiple elements is
allocated based on the fair value of each element and is
recognised in accordance with the accounting principles for
each element described above 24 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
b cost of sale
cost of sales represents the cost to the business to deliver
its revenue  it comprises commission internal costs relating
to customer specific projects and external third party
software and contractor costs
c foreign currencies
the functional and presentation currency of the group and
its subsidiaries is sterling gbp  transactions in foreign
currencies are recorded in the functional currency at the rate
ruling at the date of the transaction 
monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign
currencies are retranslated at the rate of exchange ruling at
the balance sheet date  
all differences are taken to the consolidated income
statement
d research and development expenditure
development is the application of research findings or other
existing knowledge to the design of new or improved
processes systems or technologies development includes
those activities taking place over the period from design
through implementation testing systems integration
productisation engineering release and final product
qualification but ceases at the stage of formal product
release
research costs are expensed as incurred development
expenditure on an individual project is recognised as an
intangible asset when the group can demonstrate the
technical feasibility of completing the intangible asset so that
it will be available for use or sale its intention to complete
and its ability to use or sell the asset how the asset will
generate future economic benefits the availability of
resources to complete the asset and the ability to measure
reliably the expenditure during development however the
group has not currently achieved this position the board
will continue to review the nature of the group’s development
activities on an ongoing basis and consider whether the
conditions have been satisfied  
research and development costs include work completed
on generic ant products and customer specific
modifications revenue relating to customer specific
modifications is recognised in line with the criteria set out in
note 4a any research and development costs relating to the
delivery of this revenue are recognised as incurred and
expensed to cost of sale
e intangible assets
intangible assets acquired are stated at cost less
amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses
amortisation is provided on all intangible assets at rates
calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value
of each asset evenly over its expected useful life as follows
software  – over 3 years 
the carrying values of intangible assets are reviewed for
impairment in periods if events or changes in circumstances
indicate the carrying value may not be recoverable
residual values are reviewed on an annual basis
f property plant and equipment
property plant and equipment is stated at cost less
depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses
depreciation is provided on property plant and equipment
at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated
residual value of each asset evenly over its expected useful
life as follows
leasehold improvements – over 3 years
office equipment – over 25 years
computer equipment – over 3 years
the carrying values of property plant and equipment are
reviewed for impairment in periods if events or changes in
circumstances indicate the carrying value may not be
recoverable  residual values are reviewed on an annual
basis
g taxation
current tax including uk corporation tax and foreign tax is
provided at amounts expected to be paid or recovered
using the rates and laws that have been enacted at the
balance sheet date
withholding tax is recognised as it arises through the
income statement it arises from customer withholding a
percentage of amount owed to ant and remitting this to
the local tax authorities on our behalf
deferred income tax assets are recognised for all temporary
differences carryforward of unused tax assets and unused
tax losses to the extent that it is probable that taxable
profits will be available against which the temporary
differences and the carryforward of unused tax assets and
unused tax losses can be utilised
• except where the deferred income tax asset relating to 
the deductible temporary differences arises from the 
initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction 
that is not a business combination and at the time of 
the transaction affects neither the accounting profit nor 
the taxable profit or loss and
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  25
• in respect of deductible temporary differences 
associated with investments in subsidiaries deferred tax 
assets are only recognised to the extent that it is probable 
that the temporary differences will reverse in the 
foreseeable future and taxable profit will be available 
against which temporary differences can be utilised
deferred income tax is measured at the tax rates that are
expected to apply in the year when the asset is realised
based on tax rates and laws that have been enacted or
substantively enacted at the balance sheet date
the carrying amount of deferred income tax assets is
reviewed at each balance sheet date and reduced to the
extent that it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profit
will be available to allow all or part of the deferred income tax
asset to be utilised
the group has taken advantage of the hmrc research and
development rd tax credit scheme that encourages small
and medium sized companies to increase their rd spending
a proportion of qualifying expenditure on rd activities can
be deducted when calculating the profit for tax purposes tax
credits are accounted for when cash receipt is probable in
return for surrendering tax losses the majority of the
qualifying expenditure for the group is made up by staff costs 
h sharebased payments
the cost of equitysettled transactions with employees is
measured by reference to the fair value at the date at which
they are granted and is recognised as an expense over the
vesting period which ends on the date on which the relevant
employees become fully entitled to the award fair value is
determined by the use of an appropriate option pricing model
in valuing equity settled transactions no account is taken of
any vesting conditions other that conditions linked to the
price of the shares of the company market conditions where
an equity settled award is cancelled it is treated as if it had
vested on the date of cancellation and any cost not yet
recognised in the income statement is expensed immediately
no expense is recognised for awards that do not ultimately
vest except for awards where vesting is conditional upon a
market condition which are treated as vesting irrespective of
whether or not the market condition is satisfied provided that
all other performance conditions are satisfied
at each balance sheet date before vesting the cumulative
expense is calculated representing the extent to which the
vesting period has expired and management’s best estimate
of the achievement or otherwise of nonmarket conditions in
relation to the number of equity instruments that will ultimately
vest the movement in cumulative expense since the previous
balance sheet date is recognised in the income statement
with a corresponding entry in equity for any instrument that
has vested no reversal of charges previously recognised as
an expense will occur where the terms of an equitysettled
award are modified or a new award is designated as
replacing a cancelled or settled award the cost based on the
original award terms continues to be recognised over the
original vesting period in addition an expense is recognised
over the remainder of the new vesting period for the
incremental fair value of any modification based on the
difference between the fair value of the original award and the
fair value of the modified award both as measured on the
date of the modification no reduction is recognised if this
difference is negative
where an equitysettled award is cancelled it is treated as if
it had vested on the date of cancellation and any cost not
yet recognised in the income statement for the award is
expensed immediately any compensation paid up to the fair
value of the award at the cancellation or settlement date is
deducted from equity with any excess over fair value being
treated as an expense in the income statement 
i retirement benefit costs
the group provides arrangements through a defined
contribution scheme the amount charged to the
consolidated income statement in respect of pension costs is
the contributions payable in the year
differences between contributions payable in the year and
contributions actually paid are shown as accruals in the
balance sheet
j own shares held by employee benefit trust
own shares held by the employee benefit trust “ebt” are
carried at cost and as a deduction from total equity
k operating lease agreements
rentals payable under operating leases are charged to the
consolidated income statement on a straight line basis over
the lease term
l trade and other receivables
trade receivables which generally have thirty to sixty day
terms are recognised and carried at original invoice amount
provision is made when there is objective evidence that the
group will not be able to recover balances in full  balances
are written off when the probability of recovery is assessed as
being remote and when legal notification has been provided
and a further month has elapsed
m cash and cash equivalents
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash at bank and in
hand and 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 and with an original
maturity of three months or less n other financial assets
other financial assets comprise term deposits with maturity
of more than three months from commencement that relate
to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant
risk in change in value
o finance revenue
revenue is recognised as interest accrues using the effective
interest method the effective interest rate is the rate that
exactly discounts estimated future cash receipts through the
expected life of the financial instrument to its net carrying
amount
p derivative financial instruments
the group uses derivative financial instruments such as
foreign currency contracts to hedge its risks associated with
foreign currency fluctuations such derivative financial
instruments are initially recognised at fair value on the date on
which a derivate contract is entered into and are
subsequently measured for fair value changes in fair value
are recognised in the income statement within administration
expenses no derivative financial instruments were in place at
the year end
q new standards and interpretations not applied
the iasb and ifric have issued the following standards and
interpretations with an effective date after the date of these
financial statements 
international accounting standards iasifrss
effective date
ifrs 1 first time adoption of international 
reporting standards 1 july 2009
1
ifrs 1 amendments to ifrs 1 
– additional exemptions for 
firsttime adopters 1 january 2010
ifrs 1 amendments to ifrs 1 
– limited exemption from 
comparative ifrs 7 disclosures 1 july 2010
ifrs 2 amendments to ifrs 2 
– group cashsettled sharebased 
payment transactions 1 january 2010
ifrs 3 business combinations 
revised january 2008 1 july 2009
ifrs 9 financial instruments 
classification  measurement 1 january 2013
ias 24 related party disclosures revised 1 january 2011
ias 27 consolidated and separate financial 
statements revised january 2008 1 july 2009
ias 32 amendment to ias 32 classification 
of rights issues 1 february 2010
2
ias 39 recognition and measurement 
eligible hedged items 1 july 2009
improvements to ifrs 
issued april 2009 various dates
international financial reporting interpretations
committee ifric
effective date
ifric 14 amendment prepayments of a 
minimum funding requirement january 2011
ifric 17 distributions of noncash assets 
to owners july 2009
3
ifric 18 transfer of assets from customers july 2009
4
ifric 19 extinguishing financial liabilities 
with equity instruments july 2010
1
effective in eu ‘at the latest financial years starting after 31 january 2010
2
effective in eu ‘at the latest financial years starting after 31 october 2009
3
effective in eu ‘at the latest financial years starting after 30 june 2009
4
effective in eu ‘at the latest financial years starting after 31 october 2009
5 segmental information
revenue represents the amounts derived from the provision of
goods and services which fall within the companies ordinary
activities stated net of value added tax 
the group has one segment the provision of computer
software licensing and consultancy originating from the head
office situated in the uk the chief operating decision makers
view all current activity as being related to the provision and
enablement of licensed ip  the revenue result total assets
and liabilities of the group all relate to this segment and are
those reported in the financial statements as such no
reconciliation of segmental information to the groups financial
statements is presented
the group operates within three geographical markets the
united states europe and the rest of the world  all of the
group’s noncurrent assets are held in the uk
an analysis of revenue by geographical market is given below
2009 2008
£ £
united states 1655689 911818
europe 892279 1663184
rest of the world 2150542 1166000
4698510 3741002
the geographical segmental analysis shown above relates to
our customers geographical location not the location of the
end users of the units or services provided
an analysis of revenue by type is given below
2009 2008
£ £
licence and royalty revenue 3687830 2880154
professional services 1010680 860848
4698510 3741002
2009 2008
no of customers contributing 
more than 10 revenue 4 2
26 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 the percentage contribution to revenue of customers
contributing more than 10 in the year was 158 122
115 and 101 respectively 2008114 and 112
finance revenue generated during the year was £84397
2008 £317276
6 loss from operations
this is stated after charging
2009 2008
£ £
research and development 
cost –customer funded 179879 186680
–generic 2476450 2428015
amortisation of intangible 
assets 24444 22905
depreciation of property 
plant and equipment 72371 74822
foreign currency lossgain 111791 261299
gainloss on forward contract 23825 24947
operating lease rentals               
–land and buildings 146205 136503
–other  1464
loss on disposal of property 
plant and equipment 99 1689
loss on disposal of intangible 
assets  181
research and development costs that are customer funded
and included in cost of sales relate to customer specific
modification to which ant retains the intellectual property too
the amortisation of intangible assets charge is charged to the
income statement in administration expenses
7 auditors remuneration
the group had the following amounts charged by its auditors
in respect of the audit of the financial statements and for
other services
2009 2008
£ £
audit of the financial statements
ant plc 25000 25000 
ant software limited 4000 7500
other fees to auditors
taxation 8000 7500
total 37000 40000
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  27 28 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009
8 compensation of key management personnel
including executive and nonexecutive directors  
2009 2008
£ £
short term employee benefits 897461 953058 
post employee benefits 61015 50282
share based payments 21297 4898
979773 1008238
short term employee benefits include wages payroll taxes healthcare and performance related pay  post employee
benefits relate specifically to contributions to defined contribution pension schemes and share based payments show ifrs 2
charges relating to the issue of share options
the interests of the directors in the shares of the company are detailed within the directors’ report
9 staff costs and directors’ emoluments
a staff costs 2009 2008
£ £
wages and salaries 2861913 2793198
social security costs 302836 273087
other pension costs 266704 213502
3431453 3279787
included in wages and salaries is a total charge relating to sharebased payment of £15293 2008 charge of £14668
arising from transactions accounted for as equitysettled sharebased payment transactions
the monthly average number of employees during the year was as follows
2009 2008
engineering 33 30
sales 10 8
administration 9 9
52 47
b directors’ emoluments
2009 2008
£ £
directors’ emoluments 414109 416916
contributions to defined contribution pension schemes 22667 20285
number of directors accruing benefits under
defined contribution schemes 2 2
the highest paid director received
emoluments 192993 215249
pension contributions 13667 14118 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  29
10 finance revenue
2009 2008
£ £
bank interest receivable 84397 317276 
11 tax on loss on ordinary activities
a tax on loss
the tax credit represents
2009 2008
£ £
research and development tax credit 205795 214404
foreign tax
current tax on income for the period 142095 115927
current tax credit for the year 63700 98477
b reconciliation of the tax credit
the tax assessed on the loss on ordinary activities for the year is higher than the standard rate of corporation tax in the
united kingdom the differences are explained below
2009 2008
£ £
loss on ordinary activities before tax 627428 1012955
loss on ordinary activities multiplied by standard rate of corporation tax 
in the uk of 28 2008 285 175680 288692
effect of
disallowed expenses 15187 18433
decelerated capital allowances 3767 2275
tax losses carried forward 156726 263283
impact of rate change on tax losses carried forward  4701
research and development tax credit 205795 214404
other temporary differences  
withholding tax 142095 115927
income tax credit reported in the consolidated income statement 63700 98477
historically research and development tax claims have resulted in losses being surrendered in return for cash and are
accounted for when receipt of cash is probable  during the year the group surrendered £1385762 of tax losses in return
for £205795 of cash which related to the rd tax credit for 2008 2008 £1340024 losses surrendered for £214404 for
2007 tax credit  30 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
11 tax on loss on ordinary activities continued
c deferred tax
deferred taxation assets provided in the financial statements and the amounts not provided are as follows
2009 2008 2009 2008
£ £ £ £
capital allowances in arrears of depreciation   26155 22360
losses 2944956 2976794
  2971111 2999154
there are approximately £105m 2008 £106m of tax losses available to be carried forward subject to the agreement of
hmrc these losses may be further adjusted to reflect the surrender of the losses relating to qualifying research and
development expenditure in accordance with the research and development tax credit scheme
no deferred tax asset has been recognised in relation to losses carried forward as the group is currently lossmaking the
group will not recognise the deferred tax asset until sufficient taxable profits are available to allow all or part of the deferred
tax asset to be utilised
12 loss per ordinary share
the calculations of loss per share from continuing operations are based on the loss after tax for the year of £563728 2008
£914478 and the following weighted average number of shares
2009 2008
£ £
loss for the period 563728 914478
weighted average number of ordinary shares 21537870 21437870
basic and diluted loss per ordinary share 003 004
the options have no dilutive effect on loss making years and hence the dilutive loss per share is the same as the basic loss
per share in these years the weighted average number of ordinary shares excludes treasury shares held in an employee
benefit trust of 2728497 2008 2848497
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2008
not provided provided ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  31
13 intangible assets
software
cost £
at 1 january 2008 59085
additions 44558
disposals 1147
at 31 december 2008 102496
additions 10471
disposals 3016
at 31 december 2009 109951
amortisation
at 1 january 2008 32089
charge for the year 22905
disposals 966
at 31 december 2008 54028
charge for the year 24444
disposals 3016
at 31 december 2009 75456
net book value
at 1 january 2008 26996
at 31 december 2008 48468
at 31 december 2009 34495
at the end of the year the group had amounts contracted for but not provided for of £nil 2008 £nil  32 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
14 property plant and equipment
leasehold office computer 
improvements equipment equipment total
cost ££ £ £
at 1 january 2008 90772 173345 247170 511287
additions 4606 948 66736 72290
disposals   25258 25258
at 31 december 2008 95378 174293 288648 558319
additions 7652 8411 71859 87922
disposals   43423 43423
at 31 december 2009 103030 182704 317084 602818
depreciation
at 1 january 2008 72807 169423 164149 406379
charge for the year 14678 3088 57056 74822
disposals   23569 23569
at 31 december 2008 87485 172511 197636 457632
charge for the year 4240 3231 64900 72371
disposals   43324 43324
at 31 december 2009 91725 175742 219212 486679
net book value
at 1 january 2008 17965 3922 83021 104908
at 31 december 2008 7893 1782 91012 100687
at 31 december 2009 11305 6962 97872 116139
at the end of the year the group had amounts contracted for but not provided for of £nil 2008 £nil 
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  33
15 trade and other receivables
2009 2008
£ £
trade receivables 1065881 1011519
prepayments 87460103401
accrued income 331160 309382
other debtors 66927 65265
1551428 1489567
all of the trade receivables at year end are denominated in us dollars 2008 sterling £11343 us dollars £979881 and
£20295 in euro’s
carrying amount of which neither of which not impaired on the reporting date and past 
impaired nor past due in the following periods
due on the less than between 31 between 61 more than
reporting date 30 days and 60 days and 90 days 90 days
££ £ £ £
trade receivables as at 31 dec 2009 856861 164653 28704  15663
trade receivables as at 31 dec 2008 552098 440184 13779 5458 
of the receivables neither past due nor impaired none of the counterparties have a history of defaulting
the amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful receivables the total allowance for bad
debts that was charged to the income statement in the year was £165385 2008 £25556 the bad debt provision
included in the balance sheet at the year end is £192272 2008 £49710 exposure to credit risk is mitigated where
necessary by payments in advance
2009 2008
£ £
opening 49710 24154
arising during the year 192272 49710
utilised 22823 
released 26887 24154
closing 192272 49710 34 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
16 cash  cash equivalents and other financial assets
2009 2008
£ £
cash at bank and in hand 2050217 1648752
cash equivalents short term deposits  500000
net cash and cash equivalents per cash flow 2050217 2148752
other financial assets 3000000 3500000
cash at bank earns interest at floating rates based on daily bank deposit rates cash equivalents short term deposits are
made for varying periods of between one day and three months depending on the immediate cash requirements of the
group and earn interest at prearranged rates
other financial assets are made up of cash deposits made for more than 3 months typically less than 6 months and earn
interest on the same basis as short term deposits    
net cash and cash equivalents currently held as follows
2009 £
bank of scotland plc 1370980
barclays bank plc 673080
other 6157
2050217
2008 £
bank of scotland plc 827771
barclays bank plc 817273
ulster bank 500000
other 3708
2148752
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  35
other financial assets currently held as follows
2009 interest maturity
£ rate date
ulster bank 500000 065 24th march 2010
ulster bank 500000 075 26th april 2010
allied irish bank gb 500000 145 25th may 2010
allied irish bank gb 1500000 150 28th june 2010
total 3000000
interest maturity
2008 £ rate date
ulster bank 500000 285 21st april 2009
ulster bank 500000 290 26th may 2009
bank of scotland 500000 280 24th march 2009
bank of scotland 1000000 290 29th june 2009
allied irish bank gb 1000000 320 29th june 2009
total 3500000
17 trade and other payables
2009 2008
£ £
trade payables 129241 181078
tax and social security 238167 92290
accruals 816504 894967
deferred income 438371 655112
1622283 1823447 36 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
18 financial instruments
the group’s principal financial instruments are restricted to cash  cash equivalents and other financial assets  the main
purpose of these financial instruments is to fund the group’s operations the group has various other financial instruments
such as trade receivables and trade payables that arise directly from its operations the management does not consider
there to be any significant concentration of credit risk
the main risks arising from the group’s financial instruments are liquidity and foreign currency risks the board reviews and
agrees policies for managing each of these risks  
foreign currency risk
the group makes sales in a number of overseas territories and therefore has transactional currency exposures  such
exposures arise from sales made in currencies other than the underlying entity’s functional currency the group makes
approximately 97 2008 89 of its sales outside the uk most of which is denominated in us dollars and therefore
subject to foreign exchange movements the group has a small number of foreign currency expenses which provide a
natural hedge against these exposures and on occasion it has used forward contracts  no such instruments were
outstanding at the end of the current or prior year
the table below shows the group’s currency exposures that give rise to the net currency gains and losses recognised in
the profit and loss account such exposures comprise the monetary assets and monetary liabilities of the group that are
not denominated in sterling being the operating or ‘functional’ currency of the underlying entity
at 31 december these currency exposures are as follows
functional currency of group operations us dollar other total
££ £
2009 monetary asset 168136 41225 209361
2008 monetary asset 379751 31650 411401
2009 debtors 1258153  1258153
2008 debtors 1029590 20295 1049885
2009 accrued income 329588  329588
2008 accrued income 305268  305268
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  37
the following table demonstrates the sensitivity to a reasonably possibly weakening  strengthening in the us dollar and euro
exchange rates  in relation to all other variables held constant of the group’s loss before tax
change in impact on loss impact on loss
us dollareuro  rate before tax before tax 
positive exchange movement negative exchange movement
2009 – us dollar 10 10 164211 200702
2009 – euro 10 10 3899 4765
2008 – us dollar 10 10 156131 190826
2008 – euro 10 10 5819 7112
there is no impact on equity of changes in foreign exchange rates other than the impact on retained losses resulting from the
change in loss before tax as detailed above
liquidity risk
the group’s objective is to maintain a positive cash balance at a level adequate for daily operations this is achieved through a
detailed multicurrency forecast which assesses the group’s requirements taking into account all known and forecast factors
interest rate risk and liquidity risk of the group’s financial assets
the group’s policy is to minimise interest rate risk by placing funds in low risk cash deposits but also to maximise the return on
funds placed on deposit the group invests its funds in short and medium term bank deposits and has access to these deposits
at a maximum of 6 months notice interest rates on deposits are either fixed on the commencement of the term or are at a variable
rate connected to libor £3000000 fixed breakdown shown in note 16 £2050217 variable rate 2008 £4000000 fixed
£1648752 variable
based on the groups cash reserves at the year end it is estimated that a reduction of 1 in interest rates would lead to a
reduction in finance revenue of £48308 2008 £51307 and vice versa for an increase
credit risk
the group’s only material credit risk is attributable to trade receivables cash cash equivalents and other financial assets are held
across a number of banks with our cash equivalents and other financial assets being held by “a” rated institutions to minimise risk
our customers are made up of organisations that we have long standing relationships with it is the groups policy that all
customers who wish to trade on credit terms require the specific approval of senior management receivable balances are
monitored on an ongoing basis with the result that the group’s exposure to bad debts is not significant analysis of the bad debt
provision included in the balance sheet is detailed in note 15
the maximum exposure to credit risk is the carrying value of financial assets    
borrowing facilities
the group has no overdraft facility
the directors consider there to be no material difference between the fair value and carrying values of the financial instruments at
the balance sheet dates 38 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
19 obligations under operating leases
at 31 december 2009 the group had the following future minimum rental payable under noncancellable operating leases
2009 2008
£ £
not later than one year 146206 146328
after one year but not more than five years 194941 341146
after five years  
341147 487474
the group has a commercial lease for the company registered address for a period of 4 years with an expiry date of april
2012 there are no restrictions renewal options or contingent rents on the lease
20 share capital
2009 2009 2008 2008
no £ no £
authorised 
ordinary shares of 5p each 40000000 2000000 40000000 2000000
allotted calledup and fully paid
ordinary shares of 5p each 24286367 1214318 24286367 1214318
21 sharebased payments
the group operates an enterprise management incentive emi share option scheme relating to shares in the parent
company for the benefit of all its employees and employees are entitled to participate once they have completed three
months’ service options granted to nonuk based employees or in excess of the qualifying limits for emi are unapproved
options for uk tax purposes or are outside the scope of uk taxation
options granted before 31st march 2005 have all vested and are held by employees who were employed by the group as
at the year end these 2376700 options 2008 2558360 are not accounted for under ifrs 2 as they predate the
introduction of the standard  options granted after this date are accounted for in accordance with provisions of ifrs
options granted after march 2005 vest over a three year period and are subject to the individual remaining an employee of
the company and corporate performance criteria based on group revenues the options are all equity settled expire after
10 years and there are no cash settlement alternatives there are no options issued after march 2005 which have not been
accounted for under ifrs 2
the employee benefit trust managed by an independent trust company holds 2728497 2008 2848497 ordinary
shares in the parent company of 5p each which were acquired at an average purchase price of 85p all of which are the
subject of options which have been granted with a range of share values from £0225 to £126 
the group recognised a total charge of £15293 2008 charge of £14668 in the income statement in respect of options
granted to staff
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  39
the number of options relating to current employees over 5p ordinary shares in the parent company granted exercised or
lapsed during the year is as follows
date exercise as atgrantedexercised forfeited as at period
granted price 1 january 31 december of exercise
2009 2009
feb 2005 95p 120157 10460 109697 feb 2015
mar 2005 85p 2053700 2053700 mar 2015
mar 2005 126p 213303 213303 mar 2015
mar 2005 0005p 120000 120000  july 2009
mar 2005 85p 51200 51200  july 2009
apr 2006 80p 144000 144000  apr 2016
oct 2006 625p 22000 22000  oct 2016
mar 2007 415p 205000 205000  mar 2017
sep 2007 225p 380000 380000  sep 2017
mar 2008 225p 1040000 40000 1000000 mar 2018
sep 2008 355p 125000 125000 sep 2018
april 2009 245p  477500 26000 451500 april 2019
oct 2009 385p  402500 100000 302500 oct 2019
4474360 880000 120000 978660 4255700
the following table shows the number and weighted average exercise prices waep of movements in share options during
the year
2009 2009 2008 2008
no waep no waep
outstanding as at 1 january 4474360 £0615 4292554 £0730
granted during year 880000 £0309 1235000 £0240
exercised during year 120000 £000005  na
forfeited during year 978660 £0416 1053194 £0640
outstanding as at 31 december
1
4255700 £0614 4474360 £0615
exercisable as at 31 december 2376700 £089 2558360 £085
1
included in this balance are options over 2376700 shares 2008 2558360 for which no charge has been recognised in
accordance with ifrs 2 as the options vested before 1 january 2006
for the share options outstanding as at 31 december 2009 the weighted average remaining contractual life is 68 years
2008 68 years 40 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
21 sharebased payments continued
the weighted average fair value of options granted during the year was £014 2008 £012  
the fair value of equitysettled options is estimated at the date of grant using a blackscholes model taking into account
the terms and conditions on which the options were granted the following table lists the inputs to the model used for the
year ended 31 december 2009 and 31 december 2008
2009 2008
dividend yield  0 0
expected share price volatility  611 634
riskfree interest rate  4 4
expected life of option years 6 6
weighted average share price pence 301 239
the expected life of the options is an estimate and is not necessarily indicative of exercise patterns which may occur the
expected volatility reflects the assumption that historical volatility is indicative of future trends which may not necessarily be
the actual outcome
no other features of options grant were incorporated into the measurement of fair value
22 statement of changes in equity
merger reserve
this represents the difference between the fair value and the nominal value of shares issued in connection with the
acquisition of ant software limited in march 2005
retained losses include an amount of £2224255 2008 £2322016 in relation to treasury shares that are held in the
employee benefit trust covering 2728497 5p shares 2008 2848497
notes to the financial statements continued
as at 31 december 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  41
23 additional cash flow information 
analysis of group net debt
at 1 january cash at 31 december
2009 flow 2009
£ £ £
cash and cash equivalents 2148752 98535  2050217
other financial assets 3500000 500000 3000000
5648752 598535 5050217
at 1 january cash at 31 december 
2008 flow 2008
£ £ £
cash and cash equivalents 2211027 62275  2148752
other financial assets 4000000 500000 3500000
6211027 562275 5648752
24 pension commitments
the group operates a defined contribution pension scheme for its directors and employees the assets of the scheme are
held separately from those of the group in an independently administered fund at 31 december 2009 there were no
outstanding pension contributions 2008 £nil
25 other commitments
the group’s total other commitments as at 31 december 2009 is £nil 2008 £nil
26 related party transactions
transactions between the company and its subsidiaries which are related parties have been eliminated on consolidation
and are not disclosed in this note
27 post balance sheet events
there have been no material post balance sheet events that require disclosure in these financial statements 42 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
the directors are responsible for preparing the directors report and the financial statements in accordance with
applicable law and regulations
company law requires the directors to prepare financial statements for each financial year under that law the directors
have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with united kingdom generally accepted accounting
practice united kingdom accounting standards and applicable law under company law the directors must not
approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the
company and of the profit or loss of the company for that period in preparing these financial statements the directors
are required to
• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
• make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent 
• state whether applicable uk accounting standards have been followed subject to any material departures disclosed
and explained in the financial statements 
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the company 
will continue in business
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the
companys 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 united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions
directors’ statement of responsibilities in relation to the 
parent company financial statements ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  43
we have audited the parent company financial statements of ant plc for the year ended 31 december 2009 which comprise
the balance sheet and the related notes 1 to 9 the financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation
is applicable law and united kingdom accounting standards united kingdom generally accepted accounting practice
this report is made solely to the company’s members as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of the companies
act 2006 our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are
required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose to the fullest extent permitted by law we do not
accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company and the company’s members as a body for our audit
work for this report or for the opinions we have formed
respective responsibilities of directors and auditors
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement set out on page 42 the directors are responsible for the
preparation of the parent company financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view our
responsibility is to audit the parent company 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 parent company’s circumstances and
have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by
the directors and the overall presentation of the financial statements
opinion on financial statements
in our opinion the parent company financial statements
• give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s affairs as at 31 december 2009
• have been properly prepared in accordance with united kingdom generally accepted accounting practice and
• have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the companies act 2006
opinion on other matters prescribed by the companies act 2006
in our opinion the information given in the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are
prepared is consistent with the parent company financial statements
matters on which we are required to report by exception
we have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the companies act 2006 requires us to report to you if
in our opinion
• adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company or returns adequate for our audit have 
not been received from branches not visited by us or
• the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns or
• certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made or
• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit
other matter
we have reported separately on the group financial statements of ant plc for the year ended 31 december 2009
tony mccartney senior statutory auditor
for and on behalf of ernst young llp  statutory auditor
cambridge
1 march 2010
independent auditors report to the members of ant plc 44 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
company balance sheet – uk gaap
as at 31 december
2009 2008
notes £ £
fixed assets
investments 5 631455 631455
631455 631455
current assets
debtors 6 15984 11181
other financial assets 3000000 3500000
cash and short term deposits 1450661 1425461
4446645 4936642
creditors amounts falling due within one year 7 57850 70371
net current assets 4408795 4866271
net assets 5040250 5497726
capital and reserves
called up share capital 8 1214318 1214318
share premium account 9 12066990 12066990
profit and loss account 9 8241058 7783582
5040250 5497726
the financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on 1st march 2010 they were
signed on its behalf by
s a woodward
director ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  45
1 corporate information
ant plc the company is a limited company incorporated in england and wales whose shares are publicly traded 
the principal activity of the company is that of a holding company
2 basis of preparation
the separate financial statements of the company are presented as required by the companies act 2006 they have been
prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with the applicable united kingdom accounting standards
and law
as permitted by financial reporting standard no1 revised “cash flow statements” the company has not included a
cash flow statement as part of its financial statements because the consolidated financial statements of the group of which
the company is a member include a cash flow statement and are publicly available
the company has taken advantage of the exemption in paragraph 3c of frs 25 financial instruments disclosure and
presentation and has not disclosed information required by paragraphs 51 to 95 of that standard as the group’s
consolidated financial statements in which the company is included provide equivalent disclosures for the group under
ifrs 7 financial instruments disclosures
3 accounting policies
a taxation
deferred tax is recognised in respect of all timing differences that have originated but not reversed at the balance sheet date
where transactions or events have occurred at that date that will result in an obligation to pay more or a right to pay less or
to receive more tax except that deferred tax assets are recognised only to the extent that the directors consider that it is
more likely than not that there will be suitable taxable profits from which the future reversal of the underlying timing
differences can be deducted
deferred tax is measured on an undiscounted basis at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the periods in which timing
differences reverse based on tax rates and laws enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date
b investments
investments are stated at cost less any provisions for impairment in value
c trade and other receivables
trade receivables which generally have thirty to sixty day terms are recognised and carried at original invoice amount
provision is made when there is objective evidence that the group will not be able to recover balances in full  balances are
written off when the probability of recovery is assessed as being remote and when legal notification has been provided and a
further month has elapsed
d other financial assets
other financial assets comprise term deposits with maturity of more than three months from commencement that relate to a
known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk in change in value
notes to the financial statements – uk gaap
as at 31 december 2009 46 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
notes to the financial statements – uk gaap continued
as at 31 december 2009
4 loss for the year
as permitted by section 230 of the companies act 2006 the company has elected not to present its own profit and loss
account for the year ant plc reported a loss for the financial year ended 31 december 2009 of £457476 which includes a
positive contribution of £152792 relating to the removal of intercompany balances 2008 £636249 which includes
£270141 relating to the removal of intercompany balances in the company balance sheet  
directors’ emoluments are disclosed in the directors’ remuneration report on pages 1718
5 fixed asset investments
2009 2008
£ £
as at 31st december 631455 631455
name of company holding country of proportion nature of
registration held business
ant software limited ordinary shares uk 100 trading
6 debtors
2009 2008
£ £
trade receivables 4632 4829
prepayments 9780 2228
accrued income 1572 4124
15984 11181
7 creditors amounts falling due within one year
2009 2008
£ £
trade payables 7000 11621
accruals 50850 58750
57850 70371 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  47
8 calledup share capital
2009 2009 2008 2008
no £ no £
authorised 
ordinary shares of 5p each 40000000 2000000 40000000 2000000
allotted calledup and fully paid
ordinary shares of 5p each 24286367 1214318 24286367 1214318
9 reconciliation of shareholders’ funds and movement on reserves
share share profit and total equity
capital premium loss
££ £ £
at 1 january 2008 1214318 12066990 7147333 6133975
retained loss for the year   636249  636249
at 1 january 2009 1214318 12066990 7783582  5497726
retained loss for the year   457476  457476
at 31 december 2009 1214318 12066990 8241058  5040250 48 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009
notice is hereby given that the annual general meeting of the company will be held at autonomy
house cambridge business park cowley road cambridge cb4 0wz on 19th may 2010 at 900 am for
the following purposes
ordinary business
to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolutions which will be proposed as ordinary resolutions
1 to receive the annual accounts of the company for the financial year ended 31 december 2009 together with the 
directors’ report and auditors’ report on those accounts
2 to reappoint ernst  young llp as auditors of the company to hold office from the conclusion of the meeting to the 
conclusion of the next meeting at which accounts are laid before the company and to authorise the directors to 
determine their remuneration
3 to reelect royston hoggarth who retires by rotation and agrees to his reelection as a director of the company
special business
to consider and if thought fit to pass the following resolutions of which resolution 4 will be proposed as an ordinary
resolution and resolution 5 will be proposed as a special resolution
4 that the directors be and they are generally and unconditionally authorised pursuant to and in accordance with section 
551 of the companies act 2006 the 2006 act to exercise all the powers of the company to allot relevant securities 
as defined in the notes to this resolution up to an aggregate nominal amount of £404770  provided that this authority 
shall expire on whichever is the earlier of i 15 months from the date on which this resolution is passed or ii the 
conclusion of the companys next annual general meeting save that the company may pursuant to this authority make 
offers or agreements before the expiry of this authority which would or might require relevant securities to be allotted 
after such expiry and the directors may allot relevant securities in pursuance of such offers or agreements as if the 
authority conferred by this resolution had not expired  all authorities previously conferred upon the directors pursuant to 
section 80 of the companies act 1985 shall be revoked but without prejudice to any allotment of equity securities as 
defined by section 560 of the 2006 act already made or agreed to be made pursuant to such authorities
5 that subject to the passing of resolution 4 above the directors be and they are empowered pursuant to section 570 of 
the 2006 act to allot equity securities within the meaning of section 560 of the act wholly for cash either pursuant to the
authority conferred by resolution 4 above or by way of a sale of treasury shares as if section 5611 of the 2006 act did 
not apply to such allotment provided that this power shall be limited to the allotment of equity securities
a in connection with an offer of such securities by way of a rights issue to holders of ordinary shares in proportion as 
nearly as may be practicable to their respective holdings of such shares but subject to such exclusions or other 
arrangements as the directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to treasury shares fractional entitlements 
record dates any legal or practical problems under the laws of any territory or the requirements of any regulatory body
or stock exchange and
b pursuant to the terms of any share scheme for directors and employees of the company andor its subsidiaries 
approved by the shareholders of the company in general meeting and
c otherwise than pursuant to subparagraphs a and b above having in the case of equity securities as defined in 
section 560 of the 2006 act a nominal amount or in the case of any other equity securities giving the right to 
notice of annual general meeting – ant plc
registered and incorporated in england and wales with number 05372859 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  49
subscribe for or convert into equity securities having a nominal amount not exceeding in aggregate £60710 
representing 5 per cent of the company’s issued share capital on 31 december 2009 
and such power shall expire on the earlier of 15 months from the date on which this resolution is passed or the
conclusion of the companys next annual general meeting unless renewed varied or revoked by the company prior to
or on such date save that the company may before the expiry of such power make offers or agreements which would
or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the directors may allot equity securities in
pursuance of such offers or agreements as if the power conferred hereby had not expired all powers previously
conferred upon the directors pursuant to section 95 of the companies act 1985 shall be revoked but without prejudice
to any allotment of equity securities already made or agreed to be made pursuant to such authorities this power applies
in relation to a sale of shares which is an allotment of equity securities by virtue of section 5602 of the 2006 act as if in
the first paragraph of this resolution the words pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 4 above were
omitted
by order of the board registered office
m lobo autonomy house
secretary cambridge business park
2 april 2010 cowley road
cambridge 
cb4 0wz notes
1 a member entitled to attend and vote at the meeting convened by the notice set out above is entitled to appoint one
or more proxy or proxies to attend to speak and to vote instead of him a proxy need not be a member of the company
but must attend the meeting to represent you    
2 a form of proxy is enclosed  to be valid it must be deposited at the office of the companys registrars
computershare investor services plc at po box 1075 the pavilions bridgwater road bristol bs99 7nh so as to be
received not later than 48 hours before the time appointed for holding the annual general meeting completion and
return of the form of proxy does not preclude a member from attending and voting at the meeting in person if he so
wishes
3 the memorandum and articles of association of the company and copies of directors service contracts or a
memorandum of the terms thereof with the company or any of its subsidiary undertakings will be available for inspection
at the registered office of the company during normal business hours saturdays sundays and bank or public holidays in
england excepted up to the date of and during the meeting
4 the register of interests of the directors and their families in the securities of the company or any of its subsidiary
undertakings will be available for inspection on the day of the meeting at the place of the meeting from the start of the
meeting until its conclusion
5 the company pursuant to regulation 41 of the uncertificated securities regulations 2001 specifies that only those
members entered on the register of members of the company not later than 900 am on 17th may 2010 or if the
meeting is adjourned members entered on the register of members of the company not later than 48 hours before the
time fixed for the adjourned meeting shall be entitled to attend and vote at the meeting changes to the entries on the
register of members of the company after that time shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to
attend or vote at the meeting
6 biographical details of the directors seeking election are contained in the annual report 2009
7 resolution 4 gives the directors the general power to allot relevant securities convertible into shares up to an
aggregate nominal amount of £404770 being approximately onethird of the companys issued share capital
“relevant securities” means 
a shares in the company other than shares allotted pursuant to 
i an employee share scheme as defined by section 1166 of the companies act 2006 the “2006 act” 
ii a right to subscribe for shares in the company where the grant of the right itself constituted a relevant security or 
iii a right to convert securities into shares in the company where the grant of the right itself constituted a relevant
security  
b any right to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the company other than rights to subscribe for or
convert any security into shares allotted pursuant to an employee share scheme as defined by section 1166 of the 2006
act  references to the allotment of relevant securities in the resolution include the grant of such rights
8 when shares are to be allotted for cash section 561 of the companies act 2006 provides that existing shareholders
have preemption rights and that any new shares are offered first to such shareholders in proportion to their existing
shareholdings resolution 5 is seeking to authorise the directors to allot shares of up to an aggregate nominal amount of
£60710 otherwise than on a prorata basis this represents 5 of the company’s issued share capital on 31 december
2009
50 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  51
ant plc – form of proxy
for use by shareholders at the annual general meeting of the company to be held at autonomy house
cambridge business park cowley road cambridge cb4 0wz on 19th may 2010 at 900 am
iwe see note 1
block capitals please
being a membermembers of the abovenamed company hereby appoint the chairman of the meeting or 
see note 2 
as myour proxy to vote for meus on myour behalf at the annual general meeting of the company to be held at autonomy
house cambridge business park cowley road cambridge cb4 0wz on 19th may 2010 at 900 am and at any adjournment
thereof and iwe direct the proxy to vote in respect of the resolutions to be proposed at the meeting as indicated below
please indicate with a x x in the boxes below how you wish your vote to be cast see note 3
resolutions for against withheld
1 ordinary resolution to receive the annual accounts of the company 
for the year ended 31st december 2009 together with the directors’ report 
and the auditors’ report for such period 
2 ordinary resolution to reappoint ernst  young llp as auditors of the 
company and to authorise the directors to determine their remuneration 
3 ordinary resolution to reelect royston hoggarth as a director of the company
4 ordinary resolution to authorise the allotment of equity securities within 
the meaning of s551 of the companies act 2006
5 special resolution to authorise the issue of equity securities for cash within 
the meaning of s560 of the companies act 2006 i by way of a rights issue or 
ii pursuant to the terms of any share scheme for directors and employees or 
iii otherwise having a nominal amount not exceeding 5 of the company’s issued 
share capital on 31 december 2009  
signatures date
see notes 4 and 5
notes
1 members’ full names as registered should be stated including account designations if any the names of all joint holders should be stated 
but see also note 5
2 a member may appoint a proxy of his or her choice  if such an appointment is made delete the words “the chairman of the meeting or” initial the 
alteration and print the name and address of the person appointed proxy in the space provided a proxy need not be a member of the company if 
more than one proxy is appointed to act as proxy the number of shares in respect of which each such proxy is to vote must be specified
3 where no indication is given as to how the person appointed proxy shall vote the proxy will vote or abstain at hisher discretion
4 this form of proxy must be signed by the appointer or hisher attorney duly authorised in writing or if the appointer is a corporation either under its 
common seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney duly authorised on its behalf
5 in the case of joint holders the signature of any one shareholder is sufficient if more than one joint holder is present at the meeting whether in person 
or by proxy the vote of the first named standing in the register of members will be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other registered holders
6 to be valid this form must be completed and deposited with any authority under which it is executed or a copy of the same certified notarially at the 
company’s registrars computershare investor services plc po box 1075 the pavilions bridgwater road bristol bs99 7nh not less than 48 hours 
before the time fixed for holding the meeting or any adjournment thereof
7 a vote “withheld” is not a vote in law and will not be counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes for and against a resolution
fold
tear along perfed line moisten gum and fold
fold in half and moisten along gummed edge 
fold


Summary:
 chief executive officer’s review
introduction
ant is a leading provider of software and services for the
delivery of digital tv deriving its revenue from a license and
royalty model 2009 was another year of encouraging growth 
for ant in a challenging economic environment revenues
increased by 26 per cent while loss before tax was reduced by
38 per cent and cash reserves have continued to be tightly
managed the company made an operating profit in the second
half of the year ant has continued to build a strong position in
the tv market signing strategically important new deals in the
year confirming the relevance of ant’s products across all tv
sectors
consumers drive the development of new tv services
increasingly today’s consumer expects media devices to be
connected and to be able to merge online media with other
media sources the specification of tv consumer electronics
products increasingly reflects this demand with more and more
products offering access to web based services such as iplayer
videoondemand social networking and online games while
tv operators and broadcasters experiment with new services to
build an understanding of what constitutes a compelling
consumer tv experience it is becoming increasingly clear that
web services will be at the heart of this change in the
consumer’s use of media
television web services model enables consumer demand 
to be met
television web services are a new generation of tv services
based on highly flexible servicedevelopment techniques
pioneered in the world wide web the use of a web services
model provides tv operators and broadcasters with significant
reductions in tv service development time and cost such is the
flexibility of this approach that the look and feel of tv services
can be changed regularly and new services can be introduced
and withdrawn as and when an operator broadcaster or even
the consumer chooses the use of web service technology is
being further accelerated through the increased use of hybrid tv
devices which are simultaneously able to combine the benefits
of broadband and traditional mechanisms of tv service delivery 
through the ant galio platform the company is well positioned
to exploit this growing momentum in web services tv 
6 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 financial review
revenue for the year increased 26 to £47m 2008 £37m
licence and royalty revenue rose by 28 to £37m 2008
£29m due to the broadened product range and increase in
total customer numbers professional services revenue
increased 17 to £10m 2008 £09m 
while the number of licences signed in 2009 was the 
same as last year 14 the average potential size of the
deployments for which these licences will be used has
increased significantly this gives us great confidence for
growth in the number of future unit shipments 
the total number of units shipped during the year reduced 
by 8 to 29m units 2008 32m due mainly to market
conditions and some delay in silicon chip production however
we are pleased to report an underlying increase of 22 in
revenue generating shipments as prepaid units were
substantially reduced the market conditions inevitably
impacted our customers and the number of customers
shipping over 100000 units reduced to 7 2008 9 despite
the challenging economic environment we are pleased to see
customers returning to us to license additional elements of our
product portfolio to enable them to respond quickly to
requirements  
gross margins increased to 87 2008 83 due to the
increase in license and royalty revenue in the product mix
which has a lower associated cost of sales in addition the
cost to deliver professional services has been reduced during
the year through the use of shortterm employees rather than
more expensive external contractors as had been used
previously
operating costs increased 8 to £48m 2008 £44m with all
but £003m of this increase relating to the impact of foreign
exchange charges on the income statement spending on
rd excluding customer funded elements increased by 2
to £248m 2008 £243m and share option charges were
broadly unchanged at £002m 2008 £001m the average
headcount for the year increased to 52 200847
the company remains focused on managing both its cost
base and its working capital with the second half of the year
producing an operating profit this is in line with the seasonal
nature of the business and was in line with the directors’
expectations
the average sterlingus dollar rate for the year was 160
2008 180 approximately 97 of the group’s business in
the year was conducted outside the uk 2008 90 the
majority of which was denominated in us dollars therefore the
drop in the exchange rate had a significant impact on group
revenues 
losses before tax were reduced by 38 to £06m 2008 £10m
driven by the growth in revenues  
cash and cash equivalents and other financial assets at 
31 december 2009 were £505m 2008 £565m
the group received an rd tax credit during the year relating
to 2007 and 2008 in prior years only one year’s cash was
received during each financial year resulting in an increase of
£02m to total cash inflows which will not be repeated in
future years income from interest deposits was £008m 2008
£032m due to a fall in interest rates 
the group has unrecognised tax losses available to be offset
against future profits of £105m 2008 £106m 
the directors are not recommending the payment of a final
dividend
the board considers group revenue group loss before tax
cash and cash equivalents and unit shipments to be the key
performance indicators which are the most effective measures
of the progress towards achieving the group’s objectives
market review
we have seen a significant broadening of our market during
the year ant’s belief has always been that the digital tv
market’s evolution would see the convergence of terrestrial
satellite cable and broadband delivered television ant’s
product and marketing strategy is now successfully taking
advantage of this convergence through the provision of its
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  7 chief executive officer’s review
continued
web services platform and application products these products
are compatible with all major tv network structures and device
types thus maximising ant’s opportunity across the whole tv
market
the following examples of market development have had a
significant positive impact on our business and bode well for
future growth prospects  
growing market for hybrid devices
there is a growing requirement from tv broadcasters and
operators for settopboxes to have hybrid capabilities
combining in a single settopbox the ability to receive television
services via the internet as well as via traditional broadcast
delivery channels cable satellite and terrestrial our ant galio
platform has been specifically developed to support hybrid set
topbox requirements and we have seen a considerable increase
in the level of interest in the ant galio platform this hybrid
format allows broadcasters and operators to deliver additional
services over broadband reducing churn and increasing average
revenue per unit arpu broadcasters in germany for example
are using this capability to migrate from traditional teletext to hd
digital text and rich web based services including ondemand
video hybrid devices are now mainstream in the market with
web services seeing rapid consumer take up
a compelling example of this development was the launch in
august 2009 of a new industry initiative called hybrid broadcast
broadband tv hbbtv a cross industry initiative aimed at
harmonising the broadcast and broadband delivery of content to
the end consumer through tvs and settop boxes as one of the
initial members ant has played a key role in developing the
specification with european industry leaders including
broadcasters canal france televisions and tf1 german
research institute institut für rundfunktechnik and satellite
operator ses astra
ant’s involvement in hbbtv has lead to a number of new and
existing customers licensing the ant galio hbbtv platform a
complete gotomarket solution providing full support for hbbtv
services in december 2009 humax became the first device
manufacturer to launch an hbbtv retail settop box this was
based on the ant galio hbbtv platform
market broadening into satellite and cable new licences
with arab media corporation amc and cisco
satellite and cable operators are now recognising the benefits
of a web based tv service model providing ant with the
opportunity of successfully targeting these high volume
markets this again has resulted in an increased level of interest
in our ant galio platform and during 2009 we signed new
licences with arab media corporation amc the satellite tv
operator and owner of arab radio and television art and
cisco’s cable tv division  
the agreement with cisco is an extension of our existing
licence enabling them to use the ant galio platform across its
mainstream cable market solutions in addition to the existing
iptv licence cisco has already begun deploying units in an
iptv environment based on ant’s products this latest
development will see our software used to target a significantly
bigger already established mainstream market 
we have licensed ant galio browser and ant galio core
applications to amc our first tierone satellite operator which
covers 26 countries in the middle east and north africa for its
new service which is due to be launched in 2010 
operational review
supporting industry standards
standards are central to the shaping of an industry and enable 
a market to mature ant has a strong heritage in developing
standardsbased solutions which we believe are vital to the
delivery of high volume deployments we therefore continue to
support a number of important industry standards actively
contributing to the open iptv forum oipf the digital tv
group dtg and the digital video broadcasting project dvb 
as well as the recently launched hbbtv initiative described
above we were also accepted during the year as a member of
the prestigious european telecommunications standards
institute etsi  
delivering new services
we are seeing an increasing number of device manufacturers
aiming to differentiate their product offerings by providing
additional content and services to their customers these are
8 ant plc annual report and accounts 2009 often delivered via a portal which provides access to a wide
range of content such as news information and entertainment
at the ibc show in september 2009 we demonstrated a
managed service concept a scalable ondemand tv and
web services delivery platform which meets this emerging
industry requirement 
outlook
we have been extremely encouraged by the significant licence
deals signed in 2009 especially with leading satellite and cable
organisations these deals represent our entry into high volume
tv markets we expect initial rollout in these sectors to
commence during the second half of 2010 driving both
revenue growth and a general increase in market awareness of
the potential of hybrid tv 
a further significant development was the adoption of web
services by the hybrid freetoair market which has the
potential to far outstrip that of the operator market whilst still
at an early stage ant has a pivotal role to play in the future
development of web services within the freetoair market
through its central position in initiatives such as hbbtv 
although the timing of the acceleration point for these markets
remains unclear ant was profitable in the second half and
continues to reduce its losses and grow its revenues for the full
year within a challenging economic environment and therefore
we continue to view the future with confidence
simon woodward
chief executive officer
1 march 2010
ant plc annual report and accounts 2009  9