reshaping 
our business
annual report and accounts 201 1
note 
an audit does not provide assurance on the maintenance and integrity of the website including controls used to achieve this and in particular on whether 
any changes may have occurred to the financial statements since first published these matters are the responsibility of the directors but no control 
procedures can provide absolute assurance in this area legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements differs from legislation in other jurisdictions  st ives is a unique group of marketleading companies that come together to create the most 
comprehensive and diverse range of marketing services and print solutions available in the uk
equipped with a wealth of experience in the retail publishing and commercial markets our 
experts employ the most innovative thinking and technology to deliver a wide range of high 
quality products and services we provide tailored endtoend communications solutions in 
consultancy  data management campaign management media production fulfilment and  
field marketing
by following our focused strategy over the next three years we aim to grow  diversify and 
reshape the business to enable us to enhance our customer value propositions our goal is 
to provide publishing and marketing solutions which are second to none whilst adding value 
for our stakeholders
overview
1 highlights
2 st ives group at a glance
4 chairman’s statement
business review
6 chief executive’s performance review
7  print
8  marketing services
10  balance sheet
10  strategy
10  key performance indicators
11  outlook
1 1  reshaping our business
32 financial review
34 corporate and social responsibility
corporate governance
38 board of directors
40 corporate governance
43 directors’ report
46 directors’ remuneration report
56 statement of directors’ responsibilities
our figures
57  independent auditors’ report to the members  
of st ives plc the group
58 consolidated income statement
59 consolidated statement of comprehensive income
60 consolidated statement of changes of equity
61 consolidated balance sheet
62 consolidated cash flow statement
63 notes to the consolidated financial statements
100  independent auditors’ report to the members  
of st ives plc the company
101 company balance sheet
102 notes to the company financial statements
useful information
1 10 five year record
111 financial calendar
112 shareholder information
our group today
contents  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 1
how we performed
operational highlights
 significant further progress in reshaping the group
 disposal of the magazine printing business in april reduced exposure to commodity print
 acquisition of tactical solutions in february and response one and pragma since the  
year end enhance our marketing services offering
 continued investment in organically grown marketing services
 further successful cost reduction initiatives across print segment and investment in  
digital production
 winning additional market share new contracts include hsbc rac and hachette
financial highlights
£2968m
underlying revenue 
2010 £2914m
£209m
underlying profit before tax 
2010 £1 7 8m
1445p
underlying earnings per share 
2010 1 183p
525p
t otal dividends per share 
2010 350p per share
£169m
profit before tax 
2010 loss £132m
1322p
basic earnings per share 
2010 1087p
£163m
net cash 
2010 net debt £27 m
  before nonunderlying items which comprise restructuring charges provision releases operating results of noncontinuing operations amortisation 
of acquired intangibles and oneoff items
all figures for revenue profit and earnings per share are based on continuing operations 2 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
st ives group at a glance
print
our business operates in two 
distinct markets print and 
marketing services st ives’ 
growth strategy aims to 
develop its publishing  
and marketing services 
propositions by cultivating  
a range of services and a 
toolbox of delivery capabilities
our marketing services offer 
has strengthened following  
the recent acquisition of 
response one a data 
marketing company and  
retail and consumer strategy 
company pragma both 
companies complement the 
existing added value offerings 
available from the group
print
our operations  
across the uk
contribution to group sales
books 
we produce 160 million books 
each year – from classics  
to best sellers such as one 
day and the twilight series  
we provide a complete 
publishing proposition from 
digital book solutions and 
digital print on demand to 
warehousing inventory risk 
management and distribution
exhibitions  
and events
our large format display 
materials are used across 
many markets for application 
in event interior display 
outdoor media sponsorship 
retail visitor centres 
showrooms and  
experiential marketing
point of sale 
many of the uk’s best known 
brands and retailers rely on  
us to deliver quality displays 
point of sale materials  
market research store  
audits logistics and related 
added value services
monochromatic books 
distribution 
logistics 
print on demand 
inventory risk management
locations
bungay 
london
visual consultancy 
graphics production 
giant media 
outdoor graphics 
exhibition and events 
display products 
sports and sponsorship 
branding
locations 
glasgow  
london 
nottingham 
skelmersdale
retail and brand pos 
research 
store audits 
logistics 
digital screen media
locations
birmingham 
burnley 
redditch
print
a books 26
b direct response 
 and commercial 28
c point of sale 29
d exhibitions and events 12
marketing services
e data marketing 2
f field marketing 3
 acquired june 2010
 acquired february 2011
a
b
f e
d
c
2011 2010 2009
sales £m
300
225
150
75
0
3117
2905
2827
2011 2010 2009
operating profit £m
20
12
16
8
4
0
145
190
209
bungay
edenbridge
chilcompton
bath
flintshire
redditch
birmingham
nottingham
blackburn
bradford
leeds
glasgow
london
twickenham
skelmersdale
all figures are from continuing operations before nonunderlying items  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 3
 
marketing services
marketing services
direct response  
and commercial
we have a longstanding 
reputation for the production  
of direct mail packaging and 
corporate and marketing 
literature additionally we 
support this offering with  
data services and digital  
multichannel marketing 
campaign solutions
data marketing 
our data management and 
data insight services are 
empowering marketing 
communications for  
some of the uk’s best  
known organisations
field marketing 
tactical solutions is a field  
sales and marketing company 
which consistently delivers  
a measurable return on 
investment for leading  
retailers and brands across 
the uk and ireland
consultancy services 
the recent acquisition  
of pragma a leading 
consultancy specialising in 
retail and consumer markets 
has enhanced our consulting 
capabilities our strategic and 
analytical approach provides 
a complete marketing services 
solution focused on improving 
return on investment
direct mail 
digital print 
personalisation 
commercial print 
business process outsourcing 
vendor management 
print management 
specialist print 
financial report  accounts 
fine art printing
locations
blackburn 
bradford 
edenbridge 
leeds 
london 
database management 
data analysis 
data insight 
campaign management 
data intelligence 
list and media planning 
media sales 
campaign delivery
locations
bath 
chilcompton
field sales services 
trade marketing 
sales training 
interim management
location
flintshire
 
business audits 
retail strategy and insight 
market research 
commercial due diligence 
investor services 
site surveys and compliance 
online campaign 
management 
digital media solutions
locations
london 
leeds 
redditch 
twickenham
2011 2010 2009
sales £m
15
5
10
0
5
10
0
09
141
2011 2010 2009
operating profit £m
06
02
04
0
02
04
0
02
04 4 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
chairman’s statement
this is the first statement since i took over the 
chairmanship from miles emley who stood down 
at the end of april
miles emley
miles had been on the board of st ives since 1992 for 
most of his 19 years on the board he was either executive 
or nonexecutive chairman the board and the company 
owe him an enormous debt of gratitude for his exemplary 
service and contribution to the company
strategic development and performance
the last 12 months have seen important strides forward 
for st ives the board continues to reaffirm the strategy 
for the company of strengthening our position in more 
attractive and higher growth marketing services activities 
where our strong customer relations can be reinforced by 
offering a focused portfolio of high addedvalue print and 
marketing services and of moving away from commoditised 
print markets
our acquisition of tactical solutions in february and 
our divestment of the magazine printing business in 
april were important milestones in changing the shape  
of the business since the financial year end two further 
acquisitions – response one and pragma – have further 
advanced the creation of a significant and differentiated 
marketing services offering we anticipate further strong 
evidence of the implementation of the strategy over the 
next few years
investing in  
our business
“ great efforts have been 
made to concentrate 
on those segments 
of the market where 
customers’ needs 
match our capabilities”
richard stillwell
chairman  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 5
 
the executive team has made excellent progress in 
delivering important strategic changes whilst at the same 
time improving the performance of the group’s remaining 
print activities and this will remain their key area of focus 
in the foreseeable future
the board and staff
tony stuart joined the board as a nonexecutive director 
in january for many years tony worked with rothschild 
and for part of that time acted as advisor to st ives  
he has retired from rothschild and is therefore an 
independent director we welcome him to the board  
and look forward to his contribution in april he was 
appointed as chairman of the remuneration committee
mike butterworth remains as chairman of the 
audit committee and simon marquis is senior 
independent director
during the year the board established a nomination 
committee which i shall chair and approved terms of 
reference for it the board also reaffirmed the strong 
ethical standards expected throughout the company 
in the context of a code for compliance with the recently 
enacted bribery act
the board takes a particular interest in the health  
and safety of all the group’s employees there is an 
unequivocal message from the board that health and 
safety is the number one priority the executive directors 
are constantly ensuring that this message is understood 
and acted upon throughout the organisation
on behalf of the board i would like to thank all members 
of staff for their ongoing support and commitment  
periods of economic uncertainty and structural change 
bring particular challenges and the loyalty of the 
workforce is much valued
current trading and outlook
the uk economy remains in the doldrums print demand 
as a whole remains sluggish however as some of our 
customers take initiatives to generate demand there are 
some bright spots solutions provided by our newly 
acquired marketing services businesses are in demand 
a new multimillion pound print and services contract  
with hsbc won against strong competition is coming on 
stream in the next few months the olympics are likely to 
provide a backdrop for significant marketing initiatives in 
a number of sectors which will lead to enhanced demand 
for products and services provided by st ives
our intention is to use our strong balance sheet to 
continue to acquire and invest in quality businesses to 
reinforce our enhanced marketing services offering and  
to ensure robust and resilient performance in the long 
term at the same time management are continuing  
to focus on cost and manufacturing efficiencies in our 
print operations
the board remains confident that the reshaping of the 
business around a differentiated marketing services 
business will generate stronger returns with the drive 
for increased efficiencies in the retained print businesses 
further underpinning performance
 
richard stillwell
chairman
4 october 2011 6 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s performance review
expanding  
our capabilities
“ the group continues to 
restructure its activities  
and implement plans to 
reposition the business”
patrick martell
chief executive
we are pleased to report further significant financial 
progress the continued development of our marketing 
services capabilities and the ongoing success in 
repositioning the business away from commoditised  
print markets
we have again taken action to reduce our costs and 
improve efficiencies in our print operations whilst  
investing for growth in our marketing services businesses 
further to the recent acquisition of tactical solutions  
we are delighted to have announced the acquisition 
of response one and pragma consulting as with our 
previous acquisitions they are strong businesses with 
excellent management teams have potential to grow  
and are a great fit with our strategic reshaping
we finished the year with a cash balance of £163 million 
despite the cash cost of the ongoing restructuring and  
the acquisition of tactical solutions in addition we are 
pleased to have once again further strengthened the 
balance sheet with net assets increasing by £67 million  
to £1366 million
the board recommends a final dividend of 350p making 
a full year dividend of 525p 350p in 2010 if approved 
the final dividend will be paid on 23 december 2011 to 
shareholders on the register at 2 december 2011 with  
an exdividend date of 30 november 2011  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 7
 
trading conditions during the year continued to be 
very tough as the economic climate remained subdued 
underlying group revenue of £2968 million was 18 
higher compared to the previous year as our marketing 
services segment offset the decline in print revenues  
we have made further significant progress in improving 
the underlying operating profits of the business to  
£213 million 2010 – £188 million and we are pleased 
that progress has been made in both reporting segments 
due to the actions taken to reduce costs and improve 
manufacturing efficiencies in the print operations  
and the investment made to grow our marketing  
services segment 
print
our print operations represented 953 of group  
external sales for the year this comprises the books 
exhibition and events point of sale and direct response 
and commercial print businesses
2011  
£’000
2010  
£’000
print total revenue before  
nonunderlying items 282736 290541 
print operating profit before  
nonunderlying items 20870 18966 
books
the group’s book business accounted for 273 of  
the print segment revenues sales were down by  
33 compared to the previous year at £771 million  
2010 – £797 million but once again we benefited from  
increased market share and growth in our added value 
and distribution services actions taken to improve 
manufacturing efficiencies and reduce costs mitigated  
the impact of lower revenues and the business continues 
to perform very well 
the investments into digital print and printondemand 
continue to be very successful and we are delighted to 
have made a further strategic and unique investment  
in digital production working with our technology 
partners we have invested in an integrated digital  
system which significantly extends the run length  
at which digital production is a better solution than 
conventional manufacture 
our strategy is to provide services that enable our 
customers to profitably produce physical books in smaller 
quantities ensure their availability deliver them directly 
and in so doing minimise the risk associated with holding 
stock we continue to assess the impact upon volumes 
from ebook sales which remain at levels lower than  
those reported in the us we are very confident that our 
ongoing investment in this business will ensure we remain 
the market leader are able to respond to the dynamic 
changes in this market place and continue to increase  
our market share we have renewed a number of our 
contracts during the year including that with hachette
being able to provide extensive conventional and digital 
production an integrated warehouse facility and post 
production services from a single point enables us to 
provide a unique service whilst reducing the cost and 
time of fulfilment as a result of our superior levels of 
service and reliability we have again produced the 
majority of the bestselling books which included the 
following titles
for penguin ‘how hard can it be’ by jeremy clarkson 
and ‘life and laughing’ by michael macintyre for hodder 
‘one day’ by david nicholls for headline ‘the family’ by 
martina cole for little brown ‘post mortuary’ by patricia 
cornwell for transworld ‘madeleine’ by kate mccann for 
harpercollins ‘the corrections’ by jonathan franzen for 
bloomsbury ‘the finkler question’ booker prize winner 
by howard jacobson for random house ‘a journey’ by 
tony blair and for orion ‘the tiger’s wife’ orange prize 
winner by téa obreht
exhibitions and events
sales for the exhibitions events and outdoor media 
business represented 123 of print segment sales
sales of £348 million 2010 – £313 million were 114 
ahead of last year but the margins were impacted by the 
shortterm cost and disruption caused by the move of our 
principal site from wandsworth to chessington the move 
has been completed successfully and the business is  
well placed to benefit from this new facility and ahead of 
the increased activity associated with the 2012 london 
olympics in addition to the new facility we have invested 
in additional digital output and implemented a new it 
system for the business 8 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s performance review continued
point of sale
point of sale material for the uk retailers and international 
brands represented 303 of print segment sales at 
£857 million 2010 – £818 million demand continued  
to be resilient albeit the pressure on margins remained 
intense we have invested in additional digital output 
capacity during the year and remain the market leader
direct response and commercial
direct response and commercial printing accounted for 
301 of sales in the print segment market conditions 
continued to be extremely challenging and excess 
capacity and a trend to marketeers spending on alternative 
media again exerted downward pressure on prices as a 
result we have taken action to reduce our costs improve 
efficiencies and reduce capacity
sales in the direct response and commercial businesses 
fell significantly compared to the previous year at  
£851 million 2010 – £978 million the impact upon 
operating profit was mitigated by the actions taken to 
reduce costs we continue to keep this business under 
close review given its exposure to commoditised  
print markets
marketing services
marketing services which accounted for approximately 
47 of external sales includes our data management 
business occam our recently acquired field marketing 
business tactical solutions and our organically grown 
consultancy offerings
2011  
£’000
2010  
£’000
marketing services total revenue 14054 888 
marketing services operating profit 
before nonunderlying items 450 216 
data management
occam is a leading supplier of marketing management 
software and innovative datadriven solutions for direct 
marketing occam represented 485 of marketing 
services sales at £68 million 2010 – £09 million of 
revenue we have invested significantly in this business 
during the financial year to ensure that we have a stronger 
base both in terms of people and infrastructure that will 
support our growth plans we have recently secured  
new contract wins with the rac albemarle  bond and  
a partnership agreement with ibm as a reseller
our strategic 
objectives
our goal is to grow and 
diversify the business  
while adding value to all  
of our stakeholders and 
shareholders we aim to  
do this through three key 
objectives
grow
 – large client wins
 – cross sell
 – extend range  
of services
– hsbc win
–   cross selling gaining 
momentum
–   organic consultancy 
offerings launched
–   four acquisitions 
completed
–  ongoing
stabilise
 – reduce cost 
 – strengthen  
balance sheet
– site closures
–   headcount reduction
– capex reduced
–  significant working 
capital improvement
– 100 completed
consolidate
 – improve financial 
performance
 – disposal of 
noncore 
operations
 – targeted 
investment
– margin improved
–  magazine 
business sold
–  investment in  
digital output
–   senior management 
replaced
– 80 completed  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 9
 
customer propositions
publishing solutions
all enabled 
by online 
management 
solutions
inventory 
management
digital services
media 
production
distribution 
solutions
marketing solutions
all enabled by
online campaign
management 
solutions
media 
production
campaign 
planning
data 
management
insight  
analytics
research 
evaluation
fulﬁlment 
distribution 
implementation
field marketing
 compliance
we continue to invest to build this business and our 
overall capabilities within the market for datadriven 
insight and business intelligence we are delighted 
with the acquisition of response one completed on 
14 september 2011 which will add further scale and 
capability in this growing market established in 1998 
response one is one of the uk’s leading and fastest 
growing data marketing businesses the business helps 
its clients to design and deliver effective customer and 
prospect communications through more intelligent use of 
data principal services include specialist media buying 
and sales improving data quality and insight strategic 
campaign planning and print management by integrating 
these services into one solution response one has created 
a unique offering that has transformed multichannel 
marketing activities for organisations across the uk
field marketing
tactical solutions was acquired in february 2011 and 
represented 515 of marketing services revenue at  
£72 million the business is one of the uk’s leading  
and fastest growing field marketing companies working 
with major brands and retailers to drive sales in store  
its ability to deploy a nationwide team of highly skilled 
sales professionals enables the business to deliver 
measurable return on investment for its clients within  
the retail and fmcg sector 
consultancy services
our acquisition of pragma on 20 september 2011  
a leading high growth consultancy specialising in  
retail and consumer markets is a further step to extend 
our services within these markets we believe there  
are opportunities for the group to provide products  
and services that help drive sales by understanding 
predicting and influencing consumer behaviour  
pragma are unique in combining rigorous analytical work 
with innovative ideas and commercial implementation 
skills their key strength is in understanding how 
customers behave and what motivates them to buy 
pragma will add significant strength to our organically 
grown consultancy offerings where we have invested 
during this financial year 
st ives will grow its marketing services print and book production businesses through a strategy to develop a range of 
services and a toolbox of delivery capabilities that will cover all aspects of the supply chain for belowtheline marketing 
activity and all aspects of production and distribution of digital and physical books
utilising our unique breadth of capability in marketing solutions and publishing solutions we will deliver improved return 
on investment for our customers 10 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s performance review continued
balance sheet
the balance sheet has been further strengthened during 
the year and the group continues to be very well invested 
as a result capital expenditure was again lower than 
depreciation at £89 million underlying cash flow remains 
robust and the year ended with a positive cash balance of 
£163 million 2010 – net debt £27 million an excellent 
performance given the impact on cash of funding the cost 
reduction actions and the acquisition of tactical solutions 
partially offset by the proceeds on the sale of the 
magazine printing business
we disposed of sites in edenbridge and our london  
head office during the year and continue to hold a surplus 
property for sale in crayford 
the group’s strong financial position even after the 
recent acquisitions of response one and pragma 
ensures we have the necessary flexibility to invest to 
improve our business and take advantage of further 
suitable acquisition opportunities to deliver our strategy
strategy
our results this year show that we have made further 
progress in restructuring our current business developing 
our marketing services segment and improving 
efficiencies in our existing print businesses we have 
invested in those businesses where we will continue to 
generate acceptable margins and exited markets where 
we do not believe it will be possible to generate a 
satisfactory return on investment thereby reducing our 
exposure to commoditised markets most importantly we 
are making significant progress in building a different 
business model and revenue stream in marketing 
services following the acquisition of occam tactical 
solutions response one and pragma in addition to  
our ongoing investment to build our organically grown 
nonprint offerings our businesses are well invested and 
given the changed business model capital expenditure 
going forward will remain at these lower levels 
the group benefits from strong relationships with blue 
chip organisations across a number of markets within the 
print segment we continue to invest to extend the offering 
to our book publishers beyond just manufacture to 
enable us to produce only in quantities that need to be 
printed and made available for sale when and where 
required in addition we have invested in print to support 
our marketing services offering but not where print is 
differentiated by price alone 
we will continue to build upon our offering of nonprint 
services both through acquisition and organic 
development we are very pleased with the quality and 
key performance indicators
the board uses a range of key 
performance indicators ‘kpis’ to 
measure past performance and as 
a basis for future planning the 
most significant kpis used by the 
group are financial which are set 
out below and reflect the priorities 
and focus of the board those kpis 
in respect of environmental and 
employee matters are referred to in 
the report on corporate and social 
responsibility included within the 
consolidated financial statements
2011 2010 2009
underlying revenue growth

4
0
2
4
2
6
8
193
65
18
2011 2010 2009
underlying earnings 
per share pence
18
12
15
6
9
3
0
778
1183
1445
2011 2010 2009
underlying operating 
margin 
12
8
10
4
6
2
0
46
64
72
2011 2010 2009
dividends per share pence
10
8
4
6
2
0
225
35
525
2011 2010 2009
cash conversion 
500
400
200
300
100
0
320
167
83
   continuing operations before nonunderlying items
 operating profit converted to free cash flow before nonunderlying items  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 11
 
range of our services that provide efficient and effective 
execution of marketing campaigns across a number of 
markets and for blue chip organisations our ability to 
provide products services and insight that influence 
consumer behaviour and drive sales is essential to being 
able to demonstrate a return on investment to marketeers 
retailers and brand owners 
the recently won contract with hsbc supports our 
decision to invest in building a group sales team able  
to provide a range of services from a single point 
outlook
the group has made good progress in improving the 
performance of those print businesses that support our 
marketing services offering whilst reducing its exposure  
to commoditised markets through acquisition we have 
and will continue to build a significant and broad offering 
that drives the effectiveness of multi channel marketing 
across a range of markets trading conditions within our 
traditional print markets as a result of both cyclical and 
structural changes remain extremely difficult and we do 
not expect these pressures to ease in the foreseeable 
future we will keep the cost base and performance of 
these businesses under review and will not hesitate to 
take further action if required
we are very pleased with our progress and performance 
in the current economic climate as we continue to invest 
to reposition the business for the future we start the  
new financial year having again improved our financial 
performance and have made good progress in executing 
our strategy we are confident that the actions we have 
taken to date and the strategy we are pursuing will ensure 
the group continues to prosper our financial strength  
will enable us to continue to invest and reposition the 
business despite the current economic conditions  
and in the face of ongoing structural changes to our 
traditional businesses
we believe that within the next three years 30 to 40 of 
the group’s profit will derive from our marketing services 
segment and that despite the challenging climate we will 
be able to continue to invest for the long term benefit of 
our shareholders
patrick martell
chief executive
4 october 2011
reshaping our business
we are refocusing and reorganising our business today we are a unique group of 
marketleading companies that combine to provide the uk’s most diverse range of 
marketing print and display services
our businesses complement each other perfectly specialists in their own right but 
there to support the group and create a portfolio of marketing services unequalled  
in the uk
the following pages illustrate how we are reshaping our business through our growth 
strategy initiatives and developing the group’s publishing and marketing services in 
line with our customer value proposition 
22 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through giant media
off the wall 
posters create 
a buzz
“ 44 giant display installations 
across liverpool city centre 
increase visitor numbers”
giant display installations
44
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 23
 
giant media can now be applied almost anywhere
26 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through book distribution
streamlining 
book distribution 
“ clays logistics now distributing 100 million 
books a year direct to market”
distributing
1 00 million
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 27
 
a vast array of titles managed and distributed
driving a road
to improved 
visibility
“ as a result kia has greatly improved 
customer insight and benefited from the 
flexibility of managing campaigns on its 
own terms” driving customer traffic to the dealerships
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 31
 
30 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through database management
24 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through print on demand
print on demand 
– bringing titles 
back into print
“ clays are now despatching pod books 
direct to penguin’s customers  completing 
the implementation of a high quality 
business to business fulfilment operation 
directly from clays’ manufacturing site”
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 25
 
some of penguin classics range now printed on demand
28 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through database insight
occam delivers 
efficient data 
management 
tools for tesco
“ time to produce dm campaigns reduced 
from 9 days to 3 days”
a campaign velocity increase of
300
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 29
 
12 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through digital point of sale
growth from 
group opportunity 
for st ives 
digital media
“ bacardi noted up to a 79 increase in 
sales of eristoff was achieved whilst 
bacardi breezer has increased category 
share over the first two months”
increase in sales up to
79
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 13
 
shelf edge epaper pos attracts attention
16 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through field marketing
the instore eyes 
and ears for a 
family favourite
“ heinz product availability in store for 
grocery increased from 92 to 965”
grocery increased
92 to 965
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 17
 
20 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through retail display
check shirt 
superhero drives 
increase in sales
“ displaying the checked shirts as the 
clear hero product provided levi’s with 
a 46 uplift in sales during the four week 
promotional period”
uplift in sales of
46
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 21
 
355 individual store windows dedicated to check shirt promotions
14 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through business consultation
providing a 
competitive edge 
for gaming giant
“ the result has enabled game group 
to access over 221000 pieces of store 
information and 16000 store images”
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 15
 
18 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through field marketing
healthy results for 
major snack brand
“ the tactical solutions team made 
10116 store visits in nine weeks and 
had 6124 meetings from these 4565 deals 
were closed giving an impressive strike 
rate of 74”
strike rate of
74
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 19
 
7751 new product distribution points added across independent retailers 12 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through digital point of sale
growth from 
group opportunity 
for st ives 
digital media
“ up to a 79 increase in sales of eristoff was 
achieved whilst bacardi breezer has increased 
category share over the first two months”
increase in sales up to
79  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 13
 
bacardi brown forman br b ands sought to 
develop a flexible point of sa ale le pos solution
for two product lines eristof ff f vo vodk dka and 
bacardi breezer  the brand w wis ishe hed d to to 
increase message engagemen ent t at at t the h 
point of purchase and promote a a hi high gher r 
awareness of the products bacar ardi 
employed st ives digital media to pr provide 
a more efficient alternative to static p pos o 
which would be more effective at cap ptu turi ring n 
audiences’ attention
response
digital media’s response was to provide an innovat tiv v i e 
way of engaging shoppers in a retail environment b by y 
deploying its latest epaper technology which provides es s 
animated imagery and messaging at pos the display ys s s 
can hold a range of changeable data and are ideal 
for communicating price promotions the ability to 
change price data quickly and simply was believed 
to be very beneficial to both bacardi and the retailer 
the lightweight epaper displays have very low power 
consumption and are powered by rechargeable lithium 
ba atteries providing five months’ of power at a time
outc t ome
the campaigns were carried out with wineflair st stores in 
no n rt rthern ireland and were regarded as very successful 
by by t he chain’s marketing manager andrea carson 
“t the he e ep paper campaigns have demonstrated clear 
sa sales  an nd operational benefits the technology require res s
littl le m man anag a ement whilst the pricechange capability 
ha has al llo lowe wed us u to react more quickly to market demand d
th than t tra radi diti tion onal pos”
up to a 79 79  in increase s in sales of eristoff was achieved 
whilst bacard di b bre r ezer has increased category share 
over the e f fi f rst tw wo o m months st ives digital media are now
work kin ing g with th bac acar ard di on ne new epaper opportunities 
ac acr ross the por ortf t tfol o io io 
shelf edge 
epaper pos 
attracts attention 14 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through business consultation
providing a 
competitive edge 
for gaming giant
“ the result has enabled game group 
to access over 221000 pieces of store 
information and 16000 store images”  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 15
 
eu euro rope pe’s ’s l l lea ea ead d ding g c computer an nd d d v vi v d deo ga am me es 
re eta ta tail iler er the ega g me group whic ch hin inc cludes s
ga game me s sto tore r s and gamestatio on n w we ere 
st s ruggling to capture accurate e s st to o ore e ed dat ata a a 
ga ga a ain i i i a clearer understanding o o of t th h hei eir r st st sto ores es s s  
and en en en nab a a a le them to send the ri igh gh ght tpr pr rin inted d 
materials to to to toe e eac a a h store and dev v vel lop p p a a mo ore e e e  
tailored appro roac c ch h h to instore m ma ark rket et tin ing
game group required a c c centralised o on nli lin ne n d d da atabas ase e 
and print allocations tool w w whi h h ch would d d delive e er the 
benefits of accurate store surv ve v y data a  th th he da data taba base se se se 
would hold detailed store data a a a and ima age ge ges fr f om om g gam am am ame e
and gamestation stores simul l lta t neously y y 
re re resp p sp spon on on o se
fo forward thin in nki ki k k ng marketing g g g and busi in ne es s ss c c con onsu sult ltan an ancy cy 
and connec cte te e ed d d th t t inking o on on onl lin ine e solu uti tion on ons  p p pro ro ro i i vide d ded d d d d a 
comp prehe en ns s siv i ive e ra rang ng g ge e of u u uni nique services – the most
im impo port tan ant t c co om mp mp m on on o e ent t wa w was s s datastore a purposebuilt 
on on on onli line ne  mult lti ifu fu func nc n t tion nal al m m marketing database which 
houses s d d d d dat at a a a a a a an an an nd d im ma ages s s s captured through store 
surveys t the he he e he e d d d d dat at at atas a ast t tore t to oo o l also includes a print 
allocations to oo ol ol t t t t t to o o o o e e ensu su ure r re re re exactly the right printed 
materials are sent t t t t t to o o o each store
outcome
the project  s s s surveying over 650 stores was completed 
on sched du ule o over a period of 29 weeks the result has 
en e enab able led gam m me group to access over 221000 pieces 
of store inform m ma m tion and 16000 store images pos
allocations and d d print quantities for game and gamestation 
instore campa a aigns are now created using the data 
housed within d d datastore 
forward thinking g g’s solution saw game experience
a weekly cost sav vi v ng of 125 on their standard 
weekly campaigns ns ns other benefits include reduced 
wastage improved d d campaigncreative planning 
and improved com m mpliance and quality of pos 
campaign impleme e entation 16 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through field marketing
the instore eyes 
and ears for a 
family favourite
“ heinz product availability in store for 
grocery increased from 92 to 965”
grocery increased
92 to 965  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 17
 
he he he he he he e ein n in i z z z z ha h h h s one of the big g g g gg ge ge g s st st b brand
pr pr pr pr pr r pre es e e es e en ence e e es s s s across the u u u u uk k’ k’s s to to t p pfo o ou u ur urm m m mul ul ul u ti ti i tipl pl p p e e e 
re re e eta ta t t il ile ers s a a a as ss su su such the c c cru uc ucia al l de d d dete term rm min inan ant t tof of of 
its ssu ucc cc cc cces ess sis s in n n nstore a av vai aila labi b li lity y  pr pr pr rod od oduc c ucts t ts 
mu m st b be ere re re r st stoc oc cked d d d dquic c c c ck kl kl k y y be beca caus us use e when 
av av av avai a lability yf f f fal a a a ls sa sa a ale e e es squ qu u uic c ckl kly yde dec cl cl c in ne
ha hav vi in ng g  acq c uired ou ou ou our existi t ng ng ng ng c c li l e en ent t hp hp i in n  2 2005
he he ein inz were immedia a a ate t ly impre re re re r ss ss ss se ed ed w wit ith h h hp’s excellen nt nt 
instore visibility of its s p p p product t t ts s s s s a a a as s a a resu su u ult lt of this 
they procured the help p o  f tact t c ic ic ic ic c cal l a a s sol ol o ut utio ions ns s ns i i  n n orde de e er r r
to improve the availabil ilit t ity y y of eac c c c ch h h h he he he h h in n nz z sk sku u s s sto tock ck 
keep eping g un u it  in sto tores o o o our aim m m w  as as s s s s t  o en en e su sure 
ea each ch h s s sk ku ku was as f f f ful ul ully ly ly s sto t ck ke e ed e in th h h he e righ h h h ht t t t t t pl l p ac ac a e e at 
th the e rig ght time 
re resp sp s on on o se s
ou our r de dedi dica cate te ted d d d so o solu lus te team am am ams s s develo o o oped relationship p p ps s s s 
wi wi w th th t the h store man anag ager ers s to o ogether r r r th they monitored 
di disp spla a la l ys ys y y  ensuring distribut t tion and d d d d d ca ca ca ca ca capa p p p city ty wer r r re e e e
maximi is se se sed at all times th he e data w w w w w we e e e e re re rece ceiv i ed on a 
weekly o or r fortnightly basis s enable e e e ed d d d us s to prove that 
sales inc cr cr c e ease when avai ailability y y y i s s high this helped 
he he he hein in in inz z z z b b by by building the ca ase to a al a a locate extra shelf 
spac c c ce e e to to stronger perf rf fo o or o ming  p products
outcome e
we were able e t to de e demonstr tr tr rate to heinz how effective 
interventions ca ca an n n have a a a an n n n n immediate impact on sales 
ou ou u our r pr p oven success h h h ha a as a g g g gro ro ro ro own the size of the solus 
team m wi wi wi with th th th s s s spend inc nc nc ncreasingly y y di di d d d ve v rted away from 
conven nti tio on o al adv v v ve e e ertising we are n now ow known as the 
hein n nz z z r retail s s s sa al a a es team  a a a a t t t t tes es es esta ta ta ta ame me ment nt nt t t to o o th h th the e e e st st st stre re re reng ng ng ngth th th th th th th t 
of o of our relat at at at tio io io ionship p p p an n an n a a d d d d d d d ou ou our r r pr pr pr prop op opos os osit it it itio io ion n 18 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through field marketing
healthy results for 
major snack brand
“ the tactical solutions team made 
10116 store visits in nine weeks and 
had 6124 meetings from these 4565 deals 
were closed giving an impressive strike 
rate of 74”
strike rate of
74  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 19
 
k ke ke kellog ogg’ gs sis s o o one ne e ne o o of the e na ati ti ti tion on n n’s s sf fav av avou ou ouri r te e te 
br br bran an ands ds wi wi w with th th h  a  p p p por r ortf tf f t o olio o o o o of f f f ho ho ho h u us us useh eh h e o old d na na na am me me m 
p pr pr prod d oduc cts ts s f f fro rom m m m co co or rn nfl fl flak ak ake e es es t to oel elev ev ev even en ense se se ses s
o oa oa oat tba ake ke kes s w w w wit i it ith h h hri ri r va vals ls a a at tt ttem empt ptin in in ing g g g to to to o g g g a a ain n n a a 
fo fo o f fo f ot ot ot tho ho h h ld in n nth th he e e e in in in i de de de epe pe pe pe p nd nd n en n nt’ t’s s sn sn n na a ac ack k k s se sect ct t cto or or 
ke ke ke ell ll ll log og ogg’ g gs s s sre re re real a is sed ed e e t the he he e i im mp p m or orta ta tanc nc ce e e eof of o s st tock ck ck ck 
av av av avai ai ai aila la la labi bi bili li lity ty ty t t to o s su su s cc cces es e s s a a a any n r res e po p n n ns nses es s st t t to o o oth th t the e e 
ta ta task s sk kw w w wou ou ou ould ld n nee ee ed d d d to to m mee ee ee eet t t t ke ke k llog ogg’ gs s br br br broa oa oa oade de de der r r
ob ob ob o je je e ject ctiv iv v ve es es e   of of d d dou ou o oubl bl bl bl blin in ing g g th h the e e si si size z ze of f it it it ts s ssn sn sn snac ac a k k k 
b b bu busi sine e ne ness ss ss ss a a a and nd b b b blo lo l ck ck k kin in i g g gth th th the e e ec co co comp mp mpe et et etit itor o ’s 
ro rout ute e e e to to o o m m mar a ke k ke ket t t 
re re e esp sp sp spon on on on onse se se
ta t ta tact ctic ical al l s s s sol o olut utio ons s s a ass ssem em em e embl b b b ed ed a a tea eam m o of o 2 22 2 me e emb mb mbe ers s s to to to 
ac ac act t t as as as a a a an n ex xte tens ns nsio io io o on n n n n o o of of t t the e he e e k kel ello logg gg’s ’s t t tea ea e e m v vis i it t t t tin ing g g ov ov v o e er er e 
1 10 10 1 0 0  00 00 00 00 i i nd ndep epen e de den nt t nt nt g g g gro o r ce ce e e cery ry r o out ut utle lets ts s th t e team am w w wo or orke ke ked d d d
di di di d re rect c c ctly ly y ly w with h in nde depe pend d d den en en ents ts a a a and nd n n c cas as s sh h han an nd d ca carries s to o 
ac a hi hi h ev ev e e e opti timu mu um m av avai ai ai a la la la labi bi bi b li ity t ty a and nd nd nd m m max ax ax ax a im im mis is se e e sa sa ale le e le es s s s
po pote tent ntia a a ial  t he heir ir obj bjec ec c cti tive ve e  was as t o o pr pr r rom om o om omo ot o ote e e nu nu nutr t trig ig g gra ra ra rain in 
to thos os se e e wh wh wh w o o o di didn dn’t ’t t t a alr lrea eady dy dy sto tock ck i it t an and d ex expa pand nd t t t the he  
ra rang g g ge e e e of of of of t tho hose se w who ho o d d did id id id  in in in e eac ac ch h st tor ore e a an n ex ex e ec ecut utiv ive e e
wo o w w ul ul ul u d d d d pi p tch h nu nu n tr trig igra rain in t t t to o o th th th he e e e bu bu buye yer r e e ex xplainin ng g it its s 
be be e ene ne ne ne n fits and d i i its ts v val alue ue t to o th th th t e e e re re reta tailer er e  wi wi with th t a an order 
ag ag gre reed ed they y w wou ould buy uy y y t t t th he he he  r req equi uire red d am am amount t of stoc ock k
fr fr rom om c cas as ash h h an nd dca carr r y y ch ch hai ai a n n be best stwa wa way y y y d del eliv iver er i t back k 
to to o o th t e  st stor o ore e e an a a d d as ssi ist st t w with h merc cha han nd nd ndis sin ing g an a a d poin nt t 
of of of sa sa a ale le le le w w w whe he here e re e n nec eces es ssa s sa s r ry ry ry
ou outc c tco om ome e
th th th he e ta ta tact ctic ical al s sol o o o ut ut tio i n ns t tea eam m m ma made de e e 1 1 10 0 1 11 16 6 6 6 st st s or or or re e e e vi vi vis si s s ts s
in in in n ni ni ni n ne ne n w wee ee eeks ks k  ha ha ha h v vi v ng ng 61 124 24 c con on nv ve ve vers r ations wit th h h h k ke k y y
de de d ci cis si sion on n m mak ak aker er e s s an and d cl c os s s sin ing g g g 4 4 4 44 46 46 465 5 deals givin in i g g an an 
im m m i pr pr pr p es es ess si s ve ve s s s st tr trik ke e ra rate te o of f 74 74 4 74  a s a a resu ult lt  bestway’s 
st toc c oc ck k wa w s co c m mp p m letely ly emp mp mp mpti tied ed  wi with h th 1 1 6065 5 cases of of 
nu nu u n t tr t igrain sol ld d at at a val alue ue o o o of f f £1 £157 570 000 00  i in n t tot otal a  7751 1
ne e e new w w nutrig gra rain n n d dis istr t ibutio o on n p po p poin ints ts w wer ere e e e ad d a ded across s
fo fo four ur p pro o od du du du d ct c c var ar a ia a i nt nts s 
re re epe pe pea at at p pur urch chas s asin i in i g g g fr fr fr from om m m t t t the he hese se s s n new w d di is istr tr trib but uti io ion n n n po po p in n nts ts ts ts
a a alon n ne e e e ac achi hiev ev eved ed ed t to otal p pay ay ay ayba b ba ack ck c c f f for or or t t he act ctiv vit ity y in in n n a a a a m m ma at at at a te ter r
o of of of w w we ee eeks s
7751 new product 
distribution points 
added across 
independent 
retailers 20 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through retail display
check shirt 
superhero drives 
increase in sales
“ displaying the checked shirts as the 
clear hero product provided levi’s with 
a 46 uplift in sales during the four week 
promotional period”
uplift in sales of
46  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 21
 
on on o o e e eof of t t the he h w w wor or orld ld ld’s ’s ’s m m mos os ost t t ic ic icon on nic ic ic b b bra ra rand nd ds s s l l lev ev evi i
st st stra ra raus us ss s s s eu euro ro rope pe pe e  en en enga ga ga age ge ged dsp sp sp’s ’s s s s s ser ervi vi vice ce c s s to to t
he he help lp p p p pro ro romo mo mote te te t the he hei ir ir s s spr pr prin in ng g gco co coll ll l ec ec cti ti t on on  fo fo for r le le levi vi 
st st stra ra ra aus us u s s s eu eu euro ro rope pe pe t t the he he m m mos os st t tim im mpo po p rt rtan an ant t tr tr tren en e d d 
fo fo fo or r sp sp spr ring ng ng g w w was as as c c che he heck ck cked ed s s shi hirt rt rts swh whic ich h th th they ey ey 
wa wa w nt nt nted d to oli l nk nk nk t to o oth th thei eir r rre re reno no nown wn ned ed c c cla lass ss ssic ic j j jea ean n n 
co co co co co co coll l llec ec ec cti ti t t t t t on on ons s s a as sa a ne new w wta take ke e o on n n a a acl cl clas as assi si sic c clo lo look ok ok 
th th the e cu cu cu t st t tom om om om m om omer er er er er er rr r r r r ec ec ec ec e e og og og ogni ni nise se s d d th hat at i in n th the e re re reta ta tail il il 
fa fa fa fash sh shio io ion n in n ndu du dust stry ry ry y ya a a a s s s str tr tr tr tr tr tro on on on n o ong g g g gvi vi v v vi v su su su su s s sual al al i i imp mp mpac a a t i is is
es es e s se sent ntia ial l a a as s su su uch ch c   a a apr pr prom om o ot ot t t otio o io o io io o ona na na n na na al l l l l st st st st st st s ra ra ra ra ra rate te te t tegy gy gy g g g
wa wa wa wa w s s sre requ qu q ir ired ed d t t tha ha hat t tw wo wo wou ul ul ld d d dattr rac ac a t t t at at att te tent nt ntio i i ion nan an an an n n nd d d d d d d 
e le le le ead d ad ad ad dt t t t t t to o o o o o in in in in in in ncr cr cr cr crea ea e se se ed d dsa sa ale le e es s s 
re re r sp spon on o se
l le levi vi v s s str trau au uss s ss e eur ur ro op ope e en enli l st st st ted ed ed ed t t t the he he he he he e h h h h h h hel el el elp p p p p of of s s sp p to to c re re eat ate e 
an an a ov ov over er ral all  pa pa p c ck kag age e wi wi w th th a a u uni ni n qu que e lo lo ook k k k k a a a and nd nd nd nd d nd f f f f fee ee ee ee eel fo fo fo or r th th the e e
co co oll llec ecti tion n w w whi hich ch w w wou ould d d a a als lso o al al llo lo l w w w fo fo f r r va ari riab abil lit it ty y y y b be be be be b tw tw tw w tw tw wee ee ee ee ee ee e n n n n n
st stan an nda da dard rd d fl f f ag ag gsh s ship ip p a a and nd n p p pre remi mi mium um u s sto to ore re es s 
le le l vi vi s sto tore e w w win indo ow w w di disp sp pla la ays ys w w wer er e e e re ree e eva valu luat at a ed ed ed a a and nd nd 
en enha h hanc nced d e w wit it ith h st stro ron ng v vis is i ua uals s in n or o de de er r to to o h h hea eavi vily ly
pr pr p om omot ote e e th the e ne ew w w se e s as ason on c che heck cked ed s shi hirt rt r s s s s sp p p cr cr c ea ea e te te t d d d
a a dr dram amat atic ic l loo oo ok k fo fo or r th the e e st stan anda dard r w win indo do ow w d di isp sp s l la ays ys ys w w w it ith h 
a a ‘c ‘cur urta tain in’ of of c che heck cked ed f fab b a ri ric c c an and d st stee eel l ba ba bars rs t to o o ha han ng ng 
pr prod oduc ucts ts fro om m ‘s ‘s’  ho ho oo ok o s s t t t the he t tea e m m al al a so so d des esig ig gne ne ned d d a a a
si simp mp ple e g gra raph phic ic s stick cker er e t o o ef eff fe fect ctiv ive ely y d di diff fer eren en enti tiat at te e e t th the 
ke key y pr prod oduc uc ucts t   fo for r th the e pr p pre em miu u ium st stor ores es es c cab ab ble le le r r ree ee e ls s ls w w wer er re e e 
st sten enci cile led d d wi with h “ “ch chec eck k me me m o out t u ” ” to to i inc ncre reas as se e th the e se se s ns ns se e e
of of im imme me ed di d ac acy y
ou outc tcom ome e
al all l ma mate teri rial als s we were re p pro rodu duce ced d an an a d d so sour urce ced d by by s sp p an and d 
de deli ive vere red d to to 3 300 00 s sta ta and nd n ar ard d st stor ores es es an and d 55 55 fla ags gsh hip p an and d d 
pr prem emi ium m st stor ores es ov over er a a f fou ou our r r we we eek ek e p per erio iod d d dis ispl play ayin ing g 
th the e ch chec cke ked d sh shir irts ts as s th the e cl clea a ear r he hero ro p pro rodu duct ct p pr ro rovi vide ded d 
le lev vi’s s w wit ith h a a 46 46   up uplift ft i in n sa sale le es s du duri ring ng t the he f fou our w week ek 
pr prom omot otio iona nal l pe peri i riod od 
355 individual 
store windows 
dedicated to 
check shirt 
promotions 22 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through giant media
off the wall 
posters create 
a buzz
“ 44 giant display installations 
across liverpool city centre 
increase visitor numbers”
giant display installations
44  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 23
 
‘through the wall’ is a project designed
bynational museums liverpool nml to 
showcase liverpool’s cultural riches in pu p blic 
areas around the city nml were keen to 
create as much impact as possible and
therefore employed service graphics to 
create a series of large murals which would
draw attention to the city’s cultural venues 
service graphics were asked to produce and install 
la la larg rg r rge e scale graphics onto the walls within the liverpool 
arena an n an an and d d convention centre in order to create the 
illusion that th th h h he e e e e vi vi v ewer w was looking through the wall into 
an anot o her space the he t t t tea ea e e m m had to combat great technical 
is issues w wit ith h regards to the he e e s s s s siz ize of the graphics and
surfac aces es the e gi gian a t images req q qui ui u ui u re r d fell outside the 
standard rigid id s she heet s siz ize e and it was s i i imp mp mp mperativ ve that 
jo jo jo join in in ns s remained invis isib ible le to ma main intain the i ill ll llus us s sio io i i n n
response
phase 1 of the project t t i i i inv nv nv vol ol o o olve v d installi ing t the he g gra raphics s 
the images display a 3d qual l lit it it ty y y y y an a an an a d d followed a 
technique known as ‘trompe l’oeil’ trick k of of o t the eye 
the graphics created the impression that the obj bj jec ects t 
we were coming through the wall towards the viewer
service graphics ove verc rcam ame e th t e challenges presented 
by the huge surface area plain bo b ar ards ds w wer e e mounted 
and a single piece of printed fabric was attached d t the 
length of fabric was large enough to cover the boards 
and ensure a seamless image was created it was then 
trimmed to follow the profile of the boards to produce 
a spect tacula l r r ef effe fect ct
outcome
national museums liverpool ol w w w as as as e e ext xt xtre re r me me mely ly y p p ple leas as ased ed ed
wi ith th the end nd result the gra ra a a aph hic ics cr crea eate ted d a a hu huge ge e impact t
in i i the he c cit i y f following on fr from om t the suc ucce c ss of ph ha as a e 1 
a a a a a a a se seco cond d nd p p pha h se was c co om om om omm m miss ss s ss s sio o oned extend din ing g th the 
proj oj j j jec ec e e e e ect to o o ot th he er l l l loc oc ocat at a ati io ions n around d d d live verp rp rpoo oo oo ool l l l ci ci ci c c ty ty ty ty ty c c c c cen en e tr tre e
giant media can 
now be applied 
almost anywhere 24 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through print on demand
print on demand  
– bringing titles 
back into print
“ clays are now despatching pod books 
direct to penguin’s customers  completing 
the implementation of a high quality 
business to business fulfilment operation 
directly from clays’ manufacturing site”  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 25
 
pe p ng g g gui ui ui uin n n nbooks recognised that it would 
bebe be be beneficial to create an effective print on
de de de de d m m m mand po od solution for penguin’s high
st st st street custo omers such as waterstone’s and d d d d 
w wh w w smi ith th as the primary uk supplier r t t to o o o 
pengui uin for monochrome book prod od d duc uc uc ucti ti ti tion on on n   
clay ay ys swere in the perfect position n n nt t t to o wo wo wo wo ork rk rk rk rk r  
wi wi ith thpenguin on this project w w w w we e e ad ad ad ad ad advi vi vi vise se se se se s d d d d d
pe p nguin on the key service e e er r r r req eq eq eq e ui ui ire re re em me m m nt nt t ts s s s s
forpublishers increasin ngl gl gl gl gly y y y us usin ing gprin n n n nt t t t t t o o on o 
demand to keep boo o o oks ks ks ks ksi i i in n pr prin int w w w wit it it it t tho h h ho ho h ut the e e e e 
need for costly inve ve ve e ent nt nt nt ntor ory y pen n n ngu gu gu gu gu gui in i con n nfi fi fi f firm r rm rm med 
that what they y n n nee ee ee e e de d d in a a a s s s s su u u up u plie er r r r r wa w w w w s 
excellence in n fu fu fulf lfil i ment t t s s s s s sp p p p pe p ed  ac ac ac ac accura a acy cy cy cy cy 
andreliab bil l ilit it i y
respon o se
clays provided d p p p p p pe en e guin n n n w w w w with a tailor red ed d d a a a a and nd d nd n n brand d d d ded ed ed 
operation to e e e e e en n ns n ure a a a a a h h hi h h gh quality y y y a a a a a and nd nd d n reliabl le e e e
experience ce ce ce ce e for the he e e eir ir ir custo t me me m rs rs s   cl cl c cl c c ay a s ma a a a ana n n n ge ge ge e ge a a a all ll ll ll 
prepr r r res es es es es ess requ qu qu qu qu q ir i ir i ements ts ts ts a and nd nd nd d d d i i i i ind nd nd nd n ivid dua ua a al l or or rde de de de ers rs s a a a a a are r 
auto to to o tom m matica ca ca a a all ll ll l l l y fed fr r rom om om o p p p p p pen en en en en en engu g guin in n n i i int nt t nt n o cl cl cl clay ay ay ay ys’ s’ s’ s’ s s s s s sch h hed ed ed ed e ul u ul u u in in in in in ng g g g g
sy sy sy system m m m m f f f from the he ere e e e    or or o o or o de d d d d rs rs rs rs r a a are c c c co o o on onti inu nu nu nually ly y ly r rep ep ep ep ep e or o or or rte te te te ted d d d d d d a a a an and
trac ac c c cke k ke ke ke ke k d d d th thro o oug u ug ug ug gh h h h h to to to to to to on n n n n ti tim me m p p p pr ro ro rodu du u du duc ct t ct c ion n n n n an an an n n n a a d d d d d d fu fu fu fu fulf lf lf lf lf fi il il il il i m m me m nt nt nt nt 
vi vi vi via ei ei ei e t ther er e t the e he he e e r r r r r roy oy y y y yal al al a a a m m mai il l l l o o o or o t t t the he he he p p p par r ar arce ce ce ce c l l l l ca ca ca ca ar rr rr rr r r ie ie ie ier r se se se erv rv rv r ice
ou ou o o tc tc tc c c com om om om om o o e e e e e e
cl cl cl cl cl lay ay ay ay ay ays s s s  an an an an an a and d d pe pe pe peng ng ng gui ui ui uin wo wo wo o work rk rk k rk ked ed ed ed ed d c c c c c c cl l lo lo lose sely ly to achieve e e a a a a a a 
su su ucc cc c cc cc cces e sf sf sf sfu u ul i i im mp mp mp ple le l me me me e m nt nt nt nt tat at at at at at a io io io ion n n s supported b by y y y y fu fu fu f f lly 
i i in in in nte e e erf rf rf rfac a a ac c ced ed ed ed it t t fo fo o o or r r ef ef ef ef ef effi f fi fi fi fi f ci ci c en e e t order admi i mi mini ni ni n n n stration and
c c cu cu ust st st sto om om om mer er e er r s s ser er er er er er rvi v vi vi vi vi v ce ce ce e  clays provid d id d ded ed ed penguin with
ex ex exce ce ce cell llen en n n n nce ce ce ce ce ce in n fulfilment s spe pe pe pe p p ed e  accuracy and reliability
some of penguin 
classics range  
now printed  
on demand 26 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through book distribution
streamlining 
book distribution 
“ clays logistics now distributing 100 million 
books a year direct to market”
distributing
1 00 million  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 27
 
one of the world’s foremos st t an an a a d ddiverse 
en en e en en en n ngl g g g gl g g ishlanguage publishers h har ar arpe pe pe p r collins s s 
work ked ed ed ed ed d d e c c c c c c c col o o o o o laboratively with clays in ord rd rder er er 
todeliver a mo mo o o o ore re re re re re re e e e e e  effective e sup p pply chain
whichwould deliver rcl cl cl cl c c clea ea ea ea ea e e e r r be be bene ne nefi fi fits ts t to obo bo both th t
harpercollins and d th th t ei ei eir r clie e ent nt nt n n s by gain nin ng g
insigh ght t in into to t the h existing g g g gsu s s pply l ly ly ly c cha a a ain in in in n a a a a and nd nd nd nd 
im im im im im m m mproving the proces s ss s s  h h h h ha ar a ar ar ar ar a pe e pe pe perc c c c collins 
wi i i wished to redu du d ce ce ce ce c i i i its t t s s spending and
environmen en ntal impact
response
clays has deve veloped a fully integrated e it enviro onmen e t 
to provide harpercollins’ ma m nagement with visibility y 
of accurate real time data of the titles held by clays ys 
at a a at a a their new logistics centre
books printed by u u u u uk an n n n nd d d d ov ov ov ver er r er e se se se se se s as as as s s p p p p p printer e er er e s ar r re e e 
received and stored along w with titles pr r rod d od d o uc c uc ced ed ed ed ed b b b y y 
clays orders are then fulfilled and distribut ted ed as s 
consolidated deliveries dire ect c to the likes s of of tes esc co o 
amazon and sainsbury’s th his has led to cons sid d d de e er erab ab bly ly l 
reduced book miles and increased speed d to m ma a ark rket et  
o ou ou o tc tc t om om om om ome e e e
harp rpercollins’ savings have been sub bst stan anti tial l al  
estimated to be around 50 of total annual t tra ra ans n n n port
costs with the added benefit of significa ant n ly ly red ed d d duced  
environmental impact
due to the success of this project harpercollin n n n ns s and 
clays are now reviewing g ot t t t ot the h he h h r ar ar r r rea ea e s s in in in in in n t t the he e e e e s s s s sup up up uppl p pl ply y y ch c c c ai i i i in n n n
to offer further r r c c c cos os st t t sa a a a a avi v v vi vin ng ng ngs and d i improved availability 
of stock through increased consolidation opportun unit itie ies s
a vast array of 
titles managed 
and distributed 28 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through database insight
occam delivers  
efficient data 
management  
tools for tesco 
 
“ time to produce dm campaigns reduced 
from 9 days to 3 days”
a campaign velocity increase of
300  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 29
 
tesco bank is the uk’s most successful 
su upe pe p rm rmarket bank with over 65 million
cu u c st stom omer er accounts until recently tesco 
bank nk w as o owned by rbs and utilised rbs’s 
infrastruc ucture re and database systems once 
tesco acqu uir ired d do own n wn w er e ship from rbs a huge 
project was im mpl plem emented to overhaul all it 
sy ystems a solution was needed to improve
sy syst stem ems drive efficiency and increase 
ca amp mpai a gn n resul lt ts 
occam m offered a solution that met te tesco bank’s 
objectives s b by y delivering g ins nsi igh ht analysis and a single
customer view
response
occam’s data management solution provided tesco
bank with the immediate benefit of being able to analyse 
and interrogate its data instantly this capability enables 
the data team to run marketing campaigns with greater 
efficiency and powerful insight to ensure that customer 
communication is relevant and timely
although securely hosted by occam it was deemed 
essential that the tesco team had full access to its 
customers’ contact history and marketing preferences 
for regular and adhoc communication as well as
enabling delivery of relevant communicatio ion v via direct 
marketing post campaign analysis tools s provid de e 
indepth evaluation 
outcome
the system has enabled tesco bank to imple leme m nt 
a comprehensive customer contact strategy wh hic ich 
ensures that customers are only contacted by the eir ir 
preferred means and at a specified frequency to 
im impr prov ove e c customer services standards 
the ere has been a significant improvement nt in the
effic ciency of the marketing camp mpa aigns prod oduc uced ed
t this has allowed a 73 i inc ncrease in the nu umber of 
dm d campa aig igns ns p pro rodu duced between oc octo tob ber 2010 
b before the database was launched and may 2011  
addi diti t onally the delivery rates of dm c ca ampa paig igns 
have inc ncreased due to the improved data cleansing
pr pr p p ocesse es s triggerbased activity is now taking plac ce e 
wh h h hic ic i i h was im impossible before the team can be 
much ch h h m   ore pr proactive and timely with the e ab abil ilit ity y
to to to to commu mu mu mu muni ni n c cate with more immediacy
the e e e ti t me it tak k ke k s to o p pro rodu duce c a dm c campaign has
reduce ced d d fr fr from om an av average of of 9 d da ays s to to to to 3 days 
a 300  i increa as ase in c c campaig gn ve v ve velocity 
with the r re espo onsibility y y fo fo fo f for r the running g of o o campaig ig g ig gns n n 
an nd d th the visibili lity ty ty of wider r r marketing g g g g a ac ac ac ct ti tivi vi v ty ty occam m
has be beco come m an n n extensio on n n n of o the t t t t tes s es es sc co c c co b b ban an n a k k k
ma ark rket e ing te team am driving a road 
to improved 
visibility
“ as a result kia has greatly improved 
customer insight and benefited from the 
flexibility of managing campaigns on its  
own terms”
30 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
reshaping our business through database management expanding rapidly in the uk market korean 
car manufacturer kia has more than 1 40 
dealerships with plans to grow their network 
even further  kia wanted to k eep track of its 
evergrowing customer base and coordinate 
its mark eting activity  with the he e ea a a aim im m of 
communicating with custom me me ers rs rs a a a and leads
more effectively 
occam was task ed with h h hth t t e migration and 
development of an exis sting database along
w wi w w w th t t t the provision o o o of f f f an inhous s s se e e efa fa fa acility  to 
ac ac a acce c ce ce ces ss s s custome e e er r r rand prospect ct ct cti i i i in nf nf nf n ormation 
th th th t e e e eai ai ai ai am m m m wa w w w w s s sto i increase sale e e es s s swhilst lowering 
co co co ost st t sts s s s a a a a ach ch ch ch c c ie ie ie e i vi vi vi ving n n ng this demanded the ability 
to to to tot t tra ra a rack c c c c m mar a ke ke ke keti ti ti ting ng ng ng ng a a a act c c ivity across several 
ch chan an anne ne ne e els ls ls  in in i cl cl cl lud ud ud udin in in in ing g g g g gon on on on o li li li line ne ne e dire ect ct ct ctm m marketing
an an and d dfo foot otf fall lli int nt t nto o o o th th th th t e e e e de de de e eal al al aler er er e sh sh sh ship ip ip ps s s
re r sp pon onse se
oc c cca ca am m crea eate ted d a a si s ng gle le r rep epos osit itor ory y y of of c cle le e ean an an an a d d d d de e e ed du d d plicated 
cu ust stom om m o er er e inf forma ati tion on a and nd nd h h hig g igh h h h qu qu qualit ty y da a d ta ta a  th th th th h t t e e e e te te te team am am am am 
es es stablishe ed d a ‘c cou ount nt a and nd c cam mpa paig ig i n’ n’ n n a ana na naly ly lysi sis s s to to t to to tool ol ol ol w w w w wit it it ith h h h h 
whic ch h h th th hey ey ey w wer ere e ab ab ab ble le le le t t to o se segm gmen ent t th the e e da d da ata ta t a a an nd nd nd nd n p p p p pla la la an n n n n n n 
ef ef f ff fe fectiv ive e ca ca c mp mpai aign g s to o co comp mple leme me ment nt t th his s s s m m m m mod od d od d o ul ul ul u es es es es e w w w we ere e 
de de deve velo l pe ped d in into to w whi hich ch k kia ia c cou ou uld ld ld l l loa o d ca c mp mp mp mpai a gn gn g g a a and n n 
resp s on onse inf for orma mati tio on ot othe he her r r c co co c mp pon onen ents ts s o o f f th th h he e e e so so so solu lu uti ti tion o o 
in incl clud u ed d s sys yste tem m in inte e erf rf rfac ac aces es es s b betwe ween en kia a and nd d i i its ts ts s sup up ppl pl plie iers rs rs s 
an and d th the e e pr pr p ov ovis isio ion of of of a a a h h h hi ig igh h pe erf rfor ormanc nce e u se ser r frie end nd dly y 
da d ta ta a a a cc cces ess s to ool ol  en en en na ab abli ling e eas asy y sy syst stem em m n nav avig igatio on n a a and 
ca ca camp mpai a gn gn m man an nag ag age em em e en ent t
ou out tcom ome e
occam’ m’s s s so so solu lu luti ti tion on p pro rovi vide ded d ki k a a wi w th th c com ompl plet ete e v visi si sib b bi b l li ity ty ty a a and 
eq qui uipp p pped e ed k k k kia ia ia’s ’s c cus usto tome mer r da data aba b se se a and nd d dig git ta al m m mar ar ark ke keti ting ng n 
ma mana n nage ge g r r r to to o p perfo orm a all ll c cam mpa paig ign n se sele lect ctio ons ns n u us sing g ng a a a h hig igh h h
pe pe erf rf rfor or orma ma ma an nc nce use er rfr friend ndly ly da data ta a acc cces e s s to tool o o   as a as a res es es e u u ult 
k ki kia a a ha ha has s s g gr grea atl ly y impr prov oved e c cus sto tome mer r in nsi s gh ght t an and d be b ne efi f fite te ted d 
fr fr fro om om t t the he he flexibility of ma mana agi g ng ng c cam ampa paig igns ns o o on n it its s own n 
te term rm ms s s the h se s core data ta p pro roce c ss ssin ng g co comp mpo onen e ents ts s i incre eas ase e 
ca camp mp mpai aign effectivene ess ss by y en ensu suri r ng g  tha hat t a a hi high g gh l e evel l o of f 
da da a ata ta ta  qua ali lity i is maintained ed ki kia a’s s c camp pa aign ns s ar are e e n no not only ly y 
be be bett tter targe g ted an and th t er e ef for ore e li ike kely ly t to o y yiel eld d im improv oved e e 
re e esp spon onse s r rat a es s bu b t the e cost sts s in incu cur rred ed t thr hrou ough g c cam am mpa aig ign n 
w w wast stag age have d dec e reased e 
driving customer 
traffic to the 
dealerships
 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 31
  32 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
financial review
overview of revenue
underlying revenue for the group from continuing 
operations increased by £54 million 18 to  
£2968 million revenue of £72 million is included  
for tactical solutions acquired 9 february 2011
revenue from the print segment decreased by  
£78 million 27 revenue decreased by 33 in the 
books business but market share increased exhibitions 
and events revenue increased by 114 although this 
growth slowed towards the end of the financial year as 
general economic sentiment deteriorated revenue 
for the point of sale business increased by £39 million  
48 but direct response and commercial revenue 
declined by 130 partly due to planned reductions 
in capacity and the removal of less profitable work from 
the overall mix
revenue for the marketing services segment increased 
significantly due to the acquisition of occam at the end of 
the previous financial year and the acquisition of tactical 
solutions during the year
from a geographical point of view 958 of our print and 
marketing services’ revenue is generated within the uk
gross profit margin and underlying profitability
underlying gross profit margin has increased from 
255 to 268 despite the revenue decline within 
the print segment gross margins in the segment have 
been maintained due to improved work mix lower levels 
of outsourced work improved production efficiencies 
successful procurement initiatives and the labour cost 
reductions resulting from restructuring activities gross 
margins within the marketing services segment are 
significantly higher than those within the print segment 
and therefore the growth of this segment has lead to 
the overall improvement in margin at the group level
underlying sales and administrative overheads increased 
by £24 million driven by acquisition related overheads of 
£45 million partially offset by headcount related overhead 
reductions within the print segment of £21 million
as a result of these management actions underlying  
profit before taxation for the group from continuing 
operations increased from £178 million to £209 million 
61 to 70 of revenue
nonunderlying items
the group has undergone further restructuring during  
the year in order to mitigate the effects of the economic 
downturn remove excess capacity and improve 
operating performance
the £40 million net charge 2010 – £46 million before 
tax primarily relates to the costs associated with the 
relocation of our principal exhibitions and events site  
to chessington of £15 million redundancy asset 
impairment and other restructuring related costs within 
our head office and the books point of sale and direct 
response and commercial businesses of £50 million 
transaction costs associated with the acquisition of 
tactical solutions of £06 million and the amortisation 
of acquired intangibles for occam and tactical solutions 
of £11 million partially offset by gains of £42 million  
on the sale of our previous head office and properties  
at edenbridge
balance sheet
the balance sheet has strengthened with net assets 
increasing to £1366 million 2010 – £1299 million  
the movement reflects the loss after taxation of  
£48 million dividends of £36 million actuarial gains on 
the defined benefits pension scheme net of deferred tax 
of £120 million and the impact of the issue of shares of 
£31 million
net debt
net debt decreased during the year from £27 million to  
a cash balance of £163 million the major contributing 
factors to the movement are an improvement in underlying 
profitability a further reduction in capital expenditure  
and the proceeds of disposal of excess property and 
noncore activities partially offset by acquisitionrelated 
cash requirements
the group maintains a £550 million committed 
revolving multicurrency credit agreement which expires 
31 october 2012 
capital expenditure and depreciation
capital expenditure in cash flow terms on property 
plant and equipment together with additions to intangible 
assets other than in the context of acquisitions was 
£89 million 2010 – £121 million and cash receipts from 
asset disposals were £93 million 2010 – £46 million 
depreciation amortisation and impairments charged in 
the year was £350 million 2010 – £202 million including 
a £135 million impairment charge in respect of the 
magazine printing business disposed of in the period   st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 33
 
our businesses are very well invested and we are 
therefore able to operate at reduced levels of capital 
expenditure versus historic levels without any 
deterioration in our competitive advantage we will 
however continue to invest in those businesses that 
present opportunities for growth
acquisitions
on 9 february 2011 the group acquired tactical 
solutions uk limited one of the uk’s leading field 
marketing companies the total consideration payable  
for the business is £186 million
subsequent to the end of the financial year the group 
acquired response one holdings limited for a maximum 
consideration of £19 million and pragma holdings limited 
for a maximum consideration of £63 million
disposal
on 6 april 2011 the group disposed of its magazine 
printing business for £188 million net of selling costs 
the impairment of property plant and machinery 
associated with the disposal before tax was 
£135 million the business has been treated as 
a discontinued operation
tax
the group’s tax rate on profit before nonunderlying items 
was 276 2010 – 315
dividends
the board is recommending a final dividend of 350p 
bringing the total dividends for the year to 525p resulting 
in an underlying dividend cover of 28 times
the group remains cash generative and was debt free 
at the end of the financial year retained earnings in the 
group balance sheet at 29 july 2011 were £764 million 
2010 – £734 million
pensions
the deficit on an ias 19 basis in the defined benefits 
pension scheme at the end of the year excluding 
the related deferred tax asset was £123 million 
2010 – £329 million the decrease of the deficit 
is due primarily to an increase in the value of the 
scheme assets
the charge to underlying operating profit for this scheme 
was £02 million 2010 – £02 million which represents the 
costs of administering the scheme the income statement 
also includes a net financing credit of £06 million 
2010 – £04 million charge which reflects the expected 
return on assets of the scheme based on market rates 
available at the start of the financial year less the effect of 
the fact that the benefits are one year closer to being paid
the group contributes £22 million per annum in order to 
meet its obligations regarding the current level of deficit 
within the scheme the next triennial valuation for the 
scheme is scheduled for april 2013
financial risk management and treasury policies
the main financial risks of the group relate to interest rate 
liquidity foreign exchange and credit in relation to its 
trade receivables
the group introduced an internal audit function in 2007 
the group’s policy is to test all the business’s trade 
cycles over a threeyear period
the group’s treasury function is responsible for managing 
the group’s exposure to financial risk and operates within 
a defined set of policies and procedures approved by  
the board
the overall objective of the treasury policy is to use 
financial instruments to manage the financial risks that 
arise from the specific activities of the business it follows 
therefore that the group does not enter into speculative 
financial transactions for which there is no underlying 
business requirement
interest rate risk
the group’s borrowings are at floating interest rates 
interest as a proportion of profits before tax is relatively 
small and changes in interest rates have a low impact  
on profits the group keeps this situation under  
constant review
liquidity risk
the group maintains a £550 million committed 
revolving multicurrency credit agreement which 
expires 31 october 2012 at the year end the group 
had unused facilities of £550 million 
foreign exchange risk
the group’s trading including purchases of property 
plant and equipment is principally in sterling currency 
risk management relating to transactional business if 
significant is dealt with by the use of currency derivatives 
which are mainly foreign currency forward contracts
credit risk trade receivables
the majority of sales of the group to its customers are 
made on credit the group maintains credit insurance 
covering its larger trade debtors it is group policy that all 
customers are granted credit subject to credit verification 
procedures a rigorous system of credit control is applied 
and receivables are continually monitored bad debt 
provisions represented 36 2010 – 46 of gross trade 
debtors at the year end
matt armitage
finance director
4 october 2011 34 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate and social responsibility
relations with customers and suppliers 
the group deals with all of its customers and suppliers  
on an arm’s length commercial basis and applies ethical 
trading values that make it a disciplinary offence for any 
employee or director to offer gifts bribes or clearly 
excessive entertainment to customers in order to secure 
work employees and directors are not permitted to 
accept similar inducements from suppliers the group’s 
‘whistleblowing’ policy provides an avenue for detecting 
any breaches of its ethical trading policy 
payment terms granted to customers are negotiated 
according to the amount at risk and the financial strength 
of the customer concerned work is either part billed as  
the work progresses or is invoiced when the work or 
service is completed  
where it is considered to be appropriate and available 
longterm supply agreements of between one and three 
years are sought for paper ink and other consumables  
in some cases the group’s interests are best served by 
purchasing goods and services on a spot purchase basis 
rather than pursuant to a longterm supply agreement 
reports on procurement matters are presented to the 
company’s board of directors on a monthly basis the 
group may only be committed to agreements in excess  
of twelve months’ duration or having an annual value in 
excess of £20 million with the authority of the board 
customers have the final decision on which substrate  
they wish their work to be printed and indeed many of  
the larger book publishers prefer to supply their own 
paper for use in producing their work 
the group’s policy for retaining customers is to deliver 
consistency and reliability of service and quality no 
customer is tied in to an agreement that cannot be 
terminated in the event of underperformance  
employees 
the group is an equal opportunities employer and no job 
applicant or employee receives less favourable treatment 
on the grounds of age sex marital status race colour 
religion or belief  
it is the policy of the group that individuals with 
disabilities whether registered disabled or not should 
receive full and fair consideration for all job vacancies  
for which they are suitable applicants employees who 
become disabled during their working life will be retained 
in employment wherever possible and will be given help 
with any necessary rehabilitation and retraining the 
group is prepared to modify procedures or equipment 
wherever this is practicable so that full use can be made 
of an individual’s ability 
a ‘dignity at work’ policy operates to ensure so far as  
is practicable that the company and its subsidiaries 
provide a working environment free from harassment  
and bullying and in which employees do not behave  
in a manner which may be offensive to others  
employees of the company and its subsidiaries are 
regularly consulted by local managers and kept informed 
of matters affecting them and the overall development of 
the group 
details of the group’s pension schemes are set out in  
note 26 to the financial statements all of the schemes are 
independently managed group companies contribute to 
a number of defined contribution schemes the principal 
one of which is the st ives defined contribution pension 
plan which is available for all eligible employees to join 
and which was established in 2002 on the closure of the 
group’s defined benefits scheme to new membership  
the investments of the defined benefits scheme are 
managed separately partly passively and partly actively 
under the direction of a trustee company ‘the trustee’ 
the fund managers of the actively managed portfolios are 
proscribed from holding any investment in or lending to 
the group the number of directors of the trustee is split 
equally between membernominated and company
nominated trustee directors subject to casual vacancies 
which may arise from time to time  
those employees who were active members of the 
defined benefits scheme on 1 september 2009 were each 
offered an invitation to participate in an alternative defined 
contribution group personal pension plan administered  
by prudential 
in respect of employment matters the group uses 
statistics of accidents resulting in three days’ or more 
absence and total number of working days lost from all 
accidents as key performance indicators of the safety of  
its employees in 2011 the total number of accidents at  
the group’s sites which resulted in at least three days’ 
absence each was 17 2010 – 14 and the number of 
days’ work lost from all accidents at work was 230 days 
2010 – 3865 these data relate to the company’s 
subsidiaries at 29 july 2011 
charitable and political donations 
the group’s cash donations to charities were modest 
during the preceding two years but were increased during 
2011 and following the agreement of the company to 
match the chairman’s contributions made from foregoing 
a proportion of his fees included payments to registered 
charities nominated by the chairman it is the board’s 
policy otherwise to favour charities serving communities  
in which the group operates or to which employees or 
customers have a particular affinity the amount allocated 
to these will be kept under review no political donations 
were made in the year and the board has no intention to 
seek shareholders’ approval to permit the board to do so  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 35
shareholder relations 
the board attaches considerable importance to 
maintaining good relationships with shareholders 
effective twoway communication with institutional 
shareholders and analysts is established through regular 
presentations sometimes at production sites involving 
the chief executive and the finance director major 
shareholders are given the opportunity to meet with the 
senior nonexecutive director  
the board receives an investor relations report at each  
of its regular meetings 
the annual general meeting is regarded as an 
opportunity to communicate directly with shareholders 
and the chairman of the audit and of the remuneration 
committees will each be available at the annual general 
meeting to answer shareholders’ questions  
st ives and the environment 
st ives is committed to continuous improvement in  
its environmental performance and accepts that its 
responsibilities with regard to environmental protection 
rank equally in importance with other key business 
objectives the board is responsible for the 
implementation of this policy and senior management 
throughout the business is responsible for the daytoday 
implementation of the policy at each operating unit with 
assistance and guidance from the group’s full time health 
safety and environmental adviser supported by an 
appropriate number of sitefocused qualified health 
safety and environmental managers 
an iso140012004 – certified environmental management 
system ‘ems’ has been established at each of the 
group’s sites with the exception of occam and tactical 
solutions a review of these businesses’ existing 
management systems was undertaken during the year 
which will result in an ems being introduced at their sites 
during 2012 
these emss include procedures and systems aimed  
at managing and minimising the adverse environmental 
impacts of the following  
 energy consumptioncarbon emissions 
 waste management 
 water consumption 
 raw materials procurement and usage 
 materials recycling and 
 use of volatile organic compounds ‘vocs’ 
key performance indicators have long been established 
for managing energy consumption and carbon emissions 
waste sent to landfill and water consumption 
energy consumption and carbon emissions 
for 2011 the group targeted to achieve a 2 per cent 
reduction in the total amount of energy electricity and 
gas used per square metre of substrate at all st ives sites 
compared with 2010 the actual reduction was 3 per cent 
0049 to 0047 kwhr per square metre since 2006 this 
figure has fallen by 87 per cent 0051 to 0047 kwhr  
per square metre this improvement in the overall energy 
efficiency of the group has been achieved against a 
background of reduced throughput and a consequent 
reduction in utilisation of plant factors that have helped 
achieve these improvements are the disposal of the 
group’s magazine printing businesses and the 
consolidation of plant at fewer sites in the direct  
response and commercial business resulting in the  
more efficient use of that plant 
in absolute terms the total amount of energy electricity 
and gas used at all the group’s sites has fallen by  
21 per cent compared with 2010 145 million to  
1143 million kwhr  and by 38 per cent when compared 
with 2006 1781 million to 1143 million kwhr
the total carbon emissions arising from the combined 
usage of energy electricity and gas used at all sites fell 
by 20 per cent compared with 2010 56781 to 45649 
tonnes co
2
 since 2006 this figure has fallen by  
335 per cent 67500 to 45649 tonnes co
2
 
000
001
002
003
004
005
006
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
energy consumption kwhr per square metre
■ gas used per square metre
■ electricity used per square metre
■ total energy used per square metre
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
total energy consumption kwhr
200 million
180 million
160 million
140 million
120 million
100 million
80 million
60 million
40 million
20 million
0
 36 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate and social responsibility continued
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
emissions from energy tonnes co 2
80000
70000
60000
50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
the group is obligated under the carbon reduction 
commitment ‘crc’ and has successfully prepared and 
submitted its first annual report and footprint report  
the group pursues a carbon management programme  
to help reduce its carbon footprint through the use of low 
energy lighting compressed air management systems 
and variable speed drives there is no intention at present 
to offset carbon at a group level the group has 
however developed the capability to calculate the carbon 
footprint of individual print jobs so that the carbon can be 
offset if desired by its customers 
st ives westerham press has maintained its carbon 
neutral status  
waste management 
recycling programmes are in place at all sites as 
appropriate for paper office and process waste 
cardboard wood pallets etc aluminium printing plates 
plastic packaging inks and solvents the quantity of 
waste sent to landfill fell by 10 per cent compared with 
2010 2264 to 2006 tonnes since 2006 the quantity of 
waste sent to landfill has fallen by 65 per cent from 5695 
to 2006 tonnes the quantity of waste generated per 
square metre of substrate rose by 9 per cent compared 
with 2010 from 0763 to 0832 grams per square metre 
since 2006 this figure has fallen by 48 per cent from 16 
to 0832 grams per square metre the increase year  
on year in the quantity of waste per unit of production is 
partly due to an increase in the proportion of point of sale 
work this work utilises nonpaper substrates several of 
which eg pvcbased products are difficult to recycle 
the group is currently working with suppliers customers 
and waste management companies to resolve this issue 
furthermore occam and tactical solutions do not utilise 
paper substrate but still generate waste over the course 
of 2011 several sites switched to waste management 
companies that operate materials recycling facilities 
mrfs so that waste that cannot be recycled is sent to 
‘energy from waste’ facilities 
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
waste sent to landfill grams per square metre
180
160
140
120
100
080
060
040
020
0
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
total waste sent to landfill tonnes
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
water usage 
the total amount of water used at all sites fell by 5 per 
cent compared with 2010 108719 to 103317 cubic 
metres compared with 2006 water consumption has 
fallen by 9 per cent 113098 to 103317 the quantity of 
water used per square metre of substrate rose by 17 per 
cent compared with 2010 3366 to 428 ml per square 
metre and since 2006 this figure has risen by 348 per 
cent due in part to a growth in the proportion of water 
used in officebased activity rather than production
based activity  
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
water consumption millilitres per square metre
45
35
30
20
40
25
15
10
5
0 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 37
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
total water consumption
120000
80000
100000
60000
40000
20000
0
raw materials procurement and usage 
so far as is reasonably practicable the group is 
committed to not utilising paper and board products that 
may incorporate wood from illegally harvested sources 
wood which has originated from forests in regions of 
serious social conflict genetically modified product or 
which may originate from uncertified high conservation 
value forests we endeavour to purchase paper and 
board from sources which utilise pulp derived from 
sustainable forests or recycled postconsumer waste all 
sites that use paper and board as their principal substrate 
nine in total have achieved forest stewardship council 
‘fsc’ chain of custody certification three of these sites 
have also attained programme for the endorsement of 
forest certification ‘pefc’ during the year procedures 
and systems of work will be implemented at all nine sites 
so that they can achieve multisite certification to both 
fsc and pefc standards an environmental performance 
steering group has been established to analyse the 
marketplace and seek sustainable alternatives to the  
nonpaper substrates most commonly used by the group 
coordinate procurement and testing of new products  
and advise the board on sustainability issues due to 
technology and quality limitations our lithographic printing 
sites normally use mineral oilbased inks however our 
sheet fed printing sites can print using vegetable oilbased 
inks at our customers’ request the front section of this 
annual report and accounts is printed on paper made 
from virgin wood fibre sourced from wellmanaged forests 
independently certified according to the rules of the fsc 
the rear section is printed on paper made from 100 per 
cent deinked postconsumer waste and the inks used in 
printing the document as a whole are all vegetablebased 
use of vocs 
all inks that we use are free of voc emissions when 
stored and used at room temperature the oils whether 
mineral or vegetablebased used in heatset web offset 
inks become classified as voc emissions as the product 
passes through drying ovens which operate at high 
temperatures typically between 130 and 150 degrees 
centigrade the voc content of such inks is typically 
between 30 and 35 per cent the voc emissions from the 
heatset web offset press ovens are abated using thermal 
oxidisers the group’s web offset printing sites are each 
compliant with their environmental permits which place 
limits on the permitted voc emissions the use of 
isopropyl alcohol ‘ipa’ has been eliminated from the  
web printing processes and from the majority of sheet  
fed presses used by the group  
approved by the board of directors and signed on its 
behalf by 
philip harris 
company secretary 
4 october 2011  38 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
board of directors
from left to right tony stuart patrick martell mike butterworth richard stillwell simon marquis matt armitage  
and lloyd wigglesworth  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 39
 
executive directors
matt armitage acma
3
 – aged 42 appointed to the 
board as finance director in september 2007 mr armitage 
had previously worked for tequila london ltd – a below 
theline marketing services business owned by omnicom 
inc – for five years as their finance director previously 
he had held various financial management positions 
with companies operating in the telecommunications 
technology and fastmoving consumer goods industries 
including ten years with unilever plc
patrick martell
3
– aged 47 joined the group in 1980 
was appointed a director of clays in 1994 and became  
its managing director in 2000 appointed to the board 
in 2003 mr martell has since held the positions of 
managing director media products and managing 
director – uk operations in april 2009 mr martell 
was appointed the group’s chief executive
lloyd wigglesworth
3
 – aged 52 was appointed a 
nonexecutive director on 1 december 2008 becoming an 
executive director on 2 march 2009 on his appointment as 
group managing director – commercial mr wigglesworth 
has previously been managing director of entertainment 
uk smiths news emap’s apex and choice publishing 
companies frontline and the dutch meat marketing 
board in the uk he has served on the boards of retailing 
marketing and property companies including wh smith 
plc woolworths plc crest nicholson plc and 
donaldsons llp his early career was in sales and 
marketing with mars inc
nonexecutive directors
mike butterworth aca
123
 – aged 50 was appointed 
to the board on 1 august 2010 mike butterworth has 
for the past six years served as group finance director 
of cookson group plc a ftse250 company supplying 
products processes and services to the ceramics 
electronics and precious metals industries previously  
mr butterworth was group finance director of incepta 
group plc an international marketing and communications 
group from 2001 until 2005 prior to which he spent five 
years as group financial controller at bba group plc 
the international aviation and materials technology group 
simon marquis
123
 – aged 58 senior nonexecutive 
director was appointed to the board in 2004 mr marquis 
has over 30 years’ experience in the media and marketing 
industries being chairman of zenithoptimedia uk until 
2006 and currently chairman of c squared holdings ltd 
national readership surveys ltd and a nonexecutive 
director of the coi he also serves as a nonexecutive 
director of packet vision ltd 
richard stillwell
3
 – aged 62 having served as 
an independent nonexecutive director from 2006 
mr stillwell was appointed chairman of the company 
on 25 april 2011 mr stillwell is a qualified barrister and 
holds nonexecutive directorships with fiberweb plc 
penna consulting plc scott bader company ltd 
chairman and tbi ltd until 2000 mr stillwell was 
executive vice president of ici plc where he had held 
various posts for 26 years 
tony stuart aca
123
 – aged 59 is a chartered 
accountant and a former managing director at nm 
rothschild a leading uk investment bank where 
he worked for more than 25 years in the course of 
his career mr stuart was a corporate finance adviser 
to many leading companies in the uk and overseas 
now a consultant at rothschild a director of cornwall 
development company and an independent governor 
at university college falmouth he was appointed to 
the board on 31 january 2011 
1 member of the audit committee
2 member of the remuneration committee
3 member of the nomination committee 40 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance
compliance statement 
the company is required to comply with the 2010 uk 
corporate governance code ‘the code’ to the extent 
that it applies to ‘smallcap’ companies or explain the 
reasons for noncompliance the code is the corporate 
governance code to which the company is subject  
and a copy can be found on the frc’s website 
wwwfrcorgukcorporatecombinedcodecfu 
with the exception of provision b21 of the code which 
refers to the formation of a nomination committee in the 
opinion of the board throughout the year ended 29 july 
2011 the company has been in compliance with the code 
provisions contained in section 1 of the code the board 
agreed during the year to form a nomination committee 
which held its inaugural meeting after the year end  
the following section together with the directors’ 
remuneration report on pages 46 to 55 describes  
how the board has applied the other principles and 
supporting principles contained in the code and where 
appropriate it has adopted elements of corporate 
governance good practice 
board of directors 
the board meets at regular intervals and is responsible to 
the shareholders for overall group strategy acquisitions 
and divestments major capital projects risk and financial 
matters all directors receive agendas and papers in 
advance of each meeting detailed minutes are recorded 
and actions followed up 
the board’s membership throughout the year and the 
directors’ attendance at prearranged meetings of the 
board is set out on page 42  
it is the opinion of the board that throughout the year 
each of the company’s nonexecutive directors was 
independent for corporate governance purposes and  
free from any business or other relationship which could 
materially interfere with the exercise of his judgement in 
reaching this opinion the board has carefully considered 
the balance between applying good practice and what it 
believes is in the shareholders’ best interests the non
executive directors each have a clear understanding of 
their roles and responsibilities which are appropriately 
documented the nonexecutive directors met during the 
year with no group executive being present simon 
marquis fulfilled the role of senior independent director 
during the year the board carried out a review of matters 
reserved to it for decision these matters include the 
approval of annual budgets of individual trading subsidiaries 
major individual items of capital expenditure acquisitions 
and major procurement and supply contracts the 
management of risks that could potentially disrupt the 
ability of the group or any subsidiary to carry on business 
or which might damage the reputation of the  
group as a whole in the eyes of its shareholders or the 
general public and the management of matters which 
might result in a substantial unplanned financial risk to the 
company or any of its subsidiaries 
the executive directors bring together and meet regularly 
with the managing directors of the businesses within the 
group’s business segments to discuss major customers 
sales growth including cross selling opportunities 
people issues and groupwide procurement initiatives 
in view of the number of appointments and resignations 
which have occurred and changes made to the board’s 
and committees’ memberships during the year the annual 
processes for evaluating the effectiveness of the board  
its committees and individual directors was postponed 
until 2012  
the roles of chairman and chief executive are separate 
and distinct and an appropriate division of responsibilities 
between the two has been set out in writing and approved 
by the board 
all directors have full and timely access to all relevant 
information needed to enable them properly to discharge 
their responsibilities a procedure exists for directors to 
seek independent professional advice in the furtherance 
of their duties and to be reimbursed their reasonable legal 
fees and each has access to the advice and services of 
the company secretary all directors also have 
unrestricted access to other executives within the 
business to discuss any matter of concern to them senior 
executives within the group make regular presentations to 
the board on issues affecting their businesses future 
challenges and how they propose to address them 
on appointment each director receives an induction 
appropriate to their previous experience as a director and 
their knowledge of the industry 
the company’s articles of association require all directors 
to retire and offer themselves for reappointment by 
shareholders at least once every three years  
board committees 
audit and remuneration committees of the board existed 
throughout the year each with written terms of reference 
which were reviewed and revised during the year 
towards the end of the year the board agreed terms  
of reference for a nomination committee copies of the 
terms of reference for these committees can be obtained 
from the company secretary and may be viewed on the 
group’s corporate website wwwstivescouk 
the company secretary acts as secretary to these 
committees and ensures that committee members receive 
agendas and papers in advance of each meeting so that 
they are adequately prepared to transact the business  
in hand  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 41
audit committee 
the audit committee carries out the functions required by 
dtr 713r the board is of the opinion that throughout 
the year the audit committee had sufficient relevant 
financial experience and that its membership was made 
up of independent nonexecutive directors 
the committee’s membership throughout the year and its 
members’ attendance at three prearranged meetings of 
the committee is set out on page 42  
in addition to the prearranged meetings the committee 
held an adhoc meeting during the year principally to 
receive a briefing on new regulations standards and 
technical issues  
in the opinion of the board the committee met sufficiently 
frequently to properly discharge its responsibilities the 
committee’s role and responsibilities are set out in its 
terms of reference referred to above  
during the year the audit committee discharged its 
functions by 
 reviewing the findings of the external annual audit for 
20092010 
 receiving a report at the half year end from deloitte  
on agreed procedures they had undertaken to review 
certain subsidiaries’ balance sheets and income 
statements and controls  
 reviewing the group’s interim management statements 
and half year report prior to release 
 considering reports from the group’s head of internal 
audit on work carried out during 20102011 and 
agreeing an internal audit plan for 20112012 
 reviewing annual internal controls questionnaires 
completed by the group’s operating sites and the 
controls over key business risks 
 agreeing the nature and scope of the external annual 
audit for 20102011 
 reviewing and safeguarding the independence of 
deloitte and reviewing their performance 
 recommending deloitte’s reappointment as auditors  
 approving deloitte’s fees for their audit and nonaudit 
services within the policy set by the committee and 
 reviewing the group’s ‘whistleblowing’ policy 
the finance director the chief executive and the head of 
internal audit were also invited to attend some of the 
meetings to ensure that committee members were fully 
informed and supported in carrying out their duties 
the members of the audit committee have been given 
specific approval by the board to meet with the group’s 
external auditors whenever they or the auditors consider 
it appropriate during the year the committee’s members 
had private meetings with representatives of deloitte and 
with the head of internal audit 
remuneration committee 
the committee’s membership throughout the year and its 
members’ attendance at four prearranged meetings of 
the committee is set out on page 42  
in the opinion of the board the committee met sufficiently 
frequently to properly discharge its duties  
during the year the committee 
 approved the payment of bonuses to certain directors 
for 20092010 
 approved the directors’ remuneration report for 
20092010 
 approved the structure of the directors’ bonus scheme 
for 20102011 
 approved the proposed rules of the st ives plc long
term incentive plan 2010 the ‘ltip’ to be put before 
the shareholders for approval 
 approved the grant of awards under the ltip to certain 
executives and the performance conditions attached to 
their vesting 
 approved the executive directors’ salaries for 20112012  
 considered the ramifications of the government’s 
legislation on disguised remuneration  
 reaffirmed the policy on the approval and reporting of 
directors’ business expenses and 
 reaffirmed the company’s policy that directors’  
service contracts should make no specific provision  
for the payment of compensation in the event of 
termination payments  
nomination committee 
during the year the board formed a nomination 
committee which held its inaugural meeting after  
the year end the committee is chaired by richard 
stillwell the majority of members of the committee are 
independent nonexecutive directors including the senior 
nonexecutive director the directors will report further 
next year on the membership of the committee and  
its proceedings 
other board issues 
the company has made qualifying third party provisions 
for the benefit of its directors as defined by section 234 
of the companies act 2006 which continue in force at the 
date of this report the company has entered into deeds 
of indemnity in favour of each of its directors on identical 
terms who served during the year under which the 
company has granted directors an indemnity to the 
extent permitted by law in respect of liabilities incurred  
by virtue of their office  42 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
corporate governance continued
in accordance with the provisions of the companies act 
2006 the company has procedures in place to deal with 
the situation where a director has a conflict of interest and 
regularly reviews conflict authorisation directors take no 
part in discussions on matters in which they are interested 
and they may be requested to leave a meeting at which a 
matter in which they are interested is to be discussed 
details of directors’ attendance at board and committee 
meetings based on their maximum possible attendance 
during the year are as follows 
 board 
audit 
committee 
remuneration
committee
matt armitage 1010 – –
david best  
 chairman of the audit committee 
until 30 november 2010 33 11 22
mike butterworth  
 chairman of the audit committee 
from 30 november 2010 1010 33 44
miles emley 66 – –
simon marquis  
 senior nonexecutive director 1010 33 44
patrick martell 1010 – –
richard stillwell  
 chairman of the remuneration 
committee until 25 april 2011 1010 22 22
tony stuart  
 chairman of the remuneration 
committee from 25 april 2011 66 22 22
lloyd wigglesworth 1010 – –
  this table only shows details of attendance at meetings in the  
prearranged annual meeting calendar other adhoc meetings 
including a meeting of the full board to discuss strategic issues  
and board succession were held during the year the nomination 
committee did not meet during the year 
throughout the year at least three independent non
executive directors served on each of the audit and 
remuneration committees 
internal control and risk management 
the board is responsible for the group’s system of 
internal control including financial operational and 
compliance controls and risk management and for 
reviewing its effectiveness a workable and realistic 
system can only be designed to manage and mitigate 
rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve 
business objectives and therefore can only provide 
reasonable and not absolute assurance against material 
misstatement or loss  
the directors consider themselves collectively 
responsible for ensuring that risks arising from social 
environmental and ethical factors and the health and 
safety of the group’s employees are suitably managed  
and are referred to the board as necessary the board 
has identified and assessed those regulatory financial 
social environmental and ethical issues which may 
present a significant risk to the business 
the principal regulations affecting the group’s daytoday 
business and markets it serves have been identified by 
the board as those covering employment health and 
safety the environment planning data protection taxation 
defamation bribery and competition law the board 
each year reviews the impact that these might have on the 
business and how to manage the risks to the business 
during the year the board considered the level of risk 
arising from new offences introduced by the bribery act 
2010 and agreed and implemented changes to the 
group’s policies and procedures proportionate to the 
bribery risks faced by the group 
the internal audit team focused on the group’s internal 
controls reviewing the control environment and the testing 
of those controls controls testing of procurement estimating 
payroll fixed assets stock treasury and credit control 
cycles took place at selected sites the process by which 
the board exercises control is by monthly meetings with 
senior management within each of the group’s business 
segments these meetings are chaired by a parent board 
executive director and are also attended by the finance 
director regular items for discussion encompass any 
areas of significant risk to the businesses which are then 
raised at the next meeting of the parent board if appropriate 
appropriate due diligence was carried out on tactical 
solutions response one and pragma immediately prior 
to their acquisition annual internal control questionnaires 
are completed by the group’s other businesses and any 
inconsistencies with the group’s established corporate 
governance and authority limits regimes which are 
identified are disclosed to the audit committee 
risk is reported on and monitored at the monthly 
meetings held with senior management referred to  
above in accordance with the board’s agreed risk 
management process 
approved by the board of directors and signed on its 
behalf by 
philip harris 
company secretary 
4 october 2011 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 43
directors’ report
the directors present their directors’ report and the 
audited financial statements for the fifty two weeks  
ended 29 july 2011 
principal activities 
the principal activities of the group are set out on pages  
7 to 9 of the chief executive’s performance review  
the subsidiaries principally affecting the profits or net 
assets of the group in the year are listed in note 33 of  
the consolidated financial statements 
business and operating review 
a detailed review of the performance of the group and  
its future prospects can be found in the chief executive’s 
performance review and the financial review which 
should be read in conjunction with the chairman’s 
statement on pages 4 and 5 and the report on corporate 
and social responsibility on pages 34 to 37 all of which 
are incorporated by reference in to and forms part of this 
directors’ report 
this directors’ report covers the year under review and 
the period up to the date of signature 
certain sections of this annual report and accounts 
contain forwardlooking statements with respect to the 
strategy financial condition results operations and 
businesses of the group or markets in which the group 
operates these statements and forecasts involve risk  
and uncertainty because they relate to events and 
depend on circumstances that occur in the future and 
relate to events not all of which are within the group’s 
control although the group believes that the expectations 
reflected in such forwardlooking statements are 
reasonable there are a number of factors that could 
cause actual results or developments to differ materially 
from those expressed or implied by these forwardlooking 
statements the group undertakes no obligation to 
update any forwardlooking statement 
results and dividends 
the group loss for the year before taxation from 
continuing and discontinued operations amounted to 
£882000 2010 – profit £8104000 the directors 
propose a final dividend of 350 pence for each ordinary 
share payable on 23 december 2011 to holders on the 
register as at 2 december 2011 if approved the final 
dividend will make total dividends for the year of 525 
pence per ordinary share 
£’000
ordinary dividends  – interim 1811
– proposed final 3749
share capital 
details of the company’s share capital are set out in  
note 28 to the financial statements the company’s share 
capital is comprised of one class of ordinary shares of  
10 pence each the shares carry no rights to fixed income 
and each share carries the right to one vote at general 
meetings all shares are fully paid there are no specific 
restrictions on the size of a shareholding nor on the 
transfer of shares which are both covered by the provisions 
of the articles of association and prevailing legislation 
major interests in shares 
as at 29 july 2011 the company had been notified in 
accordance with chapter 5 of the disclosure and 
transparency rules of the following voting rights as 
shareholders of the company 
number of 
voting rights 
silchester international investors 
limited and its subsidiaries 16250906 1535
delta lloyd nv and subsidiaries 13661073 1291
standard life investments limited 7899990 746
prudential plc and its subsidiaries 6628182 640
schroder plc 6028004 582
sanderson asset management limited 4058234 392
state teachers’ retirement system  
of ohio 5213741 503
legal  general group plc and  
its subsidiaries 3979783 384
majedie asset management limited 3804459 359
on 19 september 2011 sanderson asset management 
limited notified the company that it no longer holds a 
notifiable interest in the company and on the same date 
standard life investments limited notified the company 
that it had an interest in the voting rights of 8975354 
shares 848 of the issued share capital in the company 
as at that date on 22 september 2011 silchester 
international investors limited and its subsidiaries notified 
the company that it had an interest in the voting rights  
of 16158999 shares 1462 of the issued share capital 
in the company as at that date on 3 october 2011 
schroder plc notified the company that it had an interest 
in the voting rights of 5594902 shares 499 per cent of 
the issued share capital in the company as at that date  44 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ report continued
directors 
the present membership of the board is set out on  
page 39  
david best and miles emley also served during the year 
before retiring respectively as nonexecutive directors  
on 30 november 2010 and 25 april 2011 david best 
served on both the audit and remuneration committees 
performing the role of chairman of the audit committee 
and miles emley served as the chairman of the board  
he is succeeded as chairman by richard stillwell  
richard stillwell holds a number of external nonexecutive 
directorships set out on page 39 which in the opinion of 
the board does not prevent him from devoting sufficient 
time to his responsibilities as chairman of the board  
mike butterworth and tony stuart were appointed  
nonexecutive directors during the year respectively  
on 1 august 2010 and 31 january 2011 the directors’ 
interests in shares of the company are set out in the 
directors’ remuneration report on page 52  
annual general meeting 
the notice of annual general meeting 2011 included with 
the copy of the annual report and accounts mailed to 
shareholders on 27 october 2011 sets out the following 
nonroutine business in addition to routine business 
allotment of share capital 
the board will seek to renew the shareholders’ authority  
to permit it to allot relevant securities within the limits laid 
down by the companies act 2006 and the december 2008 
guidelines issued by the association of british insurers 
disapplication of statutory preemption rights 
the directors also seek authority to allot shares in the 
capital of the company pursuant to the foregoing authority 
granted subject to certain stringent conditions 
authority for the company to purchase its own 
ordinary shares 
it will also be proposed to renew the shareholders’ 
approval for the directors to effect market purchases of 
the company’s ordinary shares on behalf of the company 
under the authority of the companies act 2006 and 
subject to certain limits and restrictions 
notice for calling a general meeting 
it will be proposed that a general meeting other than an 
annual general meeting may be called on not less than 
14 clear days’ notice 
new ‘sharesave’ plan 
finally it will be proposed to establish a new allemployee 
sharesave plan – the st ives sharesave plan – to replace 
the saye scheme which expires on 29 november 2011  
full explanations of the foregoing nonroutine business 
are given in the chairman’s letter which accompanies the 
notice of annual general meeting 
employment policies 
the group is committed to providing equal opportunities 
with regard to employment free from discrimination and 
harassment and in a healthy and safe working 
environment details of how we deliver on these 
commitments are provided in the report on corporate 
and social responsibility  
charitable and political donations 
the group made charitable donations of £16031 during 
the year 2010 – £1808 further details are given in the 
report on corporate and social responsibility no political 
donations were made in either year 
creditor payments 
it is the group’s normal practice to agree terms of trading 
including payment terms with all suppliers provided 
suppliers perform in accordance with the agreed terms  
it is the group’s policy that payment should be made 
accordingly the average creditor days outstanding at  
29 july 2011 for the group and the company were 83  
and 56 days respectively 2010 – 79 and 60 days  
auditors 
the audit committee has considered the effectiveness of 
the external audit undertaken by deloitte llp ‘deloitte’ in 
the light of their internal quality control procedures the 
promptness and accuracy of their work and other 
services obtained from them the committee also 
considered the robustness of deloitte’s safeguards and 
procedures to counter threats or perceived threats to their 
objectivity the application of their independence policies 
and their adherence to the ethical standards published 
by the auditing practices board in all these respects the 
committee was satisfied with deloitte’s objectivity and 
independence during the year the committee satisfied 
itself that the company’s policy on the provision by the 
group’s external auditors of nonaudit services had been 
appropriately applied 
based on a review of deloitte’s performance during 
20102011 and after reviewing their independence the 
committee has recommended to the board that deloitte 
be reappointed the recommendation was accepted and 
therefore a resolution to reappoint them as the group’s 
auditors will be proposed at the forthcoming annual 
general meeting  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 45
going concern 
the group’s business activities together with the factors 
likely to affect its future development performance and 
position are set out in the chairman’s statement the chief 
executive’s performance review and report on corporate 
and social responsibility the financial position of the 
group its cash flows liquidity position and borrowing 
facilities are described in the financial review in addition 
note 27 to the financial statements includes the group’s 
objectives policies and processes for managing its 
interest rate risk foreign exchange risk credit risk 
liquidity risk and capital risk the foregoing statement 
review and report are to be found on pages 4 to 42 and 
note 27 to the financial statements on pages 93 to 95 
as highlighted in note 23 to the financial statements the 
group meets its daytoday working capital requirements 
through an overdraft facility of £15 million that is part of an 
overall funding facility of £55 million which falls due for 
renewal on 31 october 2012  
the current economic conditions create uncertainty 
particularly over the level of demand for the group’s 
products but the group’s forecasts and projections 
taking account of reasonably possible changes in trading 
performance show that the group should be able to 
operate within the level of its current facility and obtain 
further financing when the current facility expires  
after making enquiries the directors consider that the 
group has adequate resources and borrowing facilities  
to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable 
future consequently they have continued to adopt the 
going concern basis in preparing the financial statements 
directors’ disclosures to the auditors 
each of the directors of the company as at 4 october 2011 
has confirmed that 
 so far as the director is aware there is no relevant audit 
information of which the company’s auditors are 
unaware and 
 the director has taken all the steps that he ought to 
have taken as a director to make himself aware of any 
relevant audit information and to establish that the 
company’s auditors are aware of that information  
this confirmation is given and should be interpreted in 
accordance with the provisions of section 418 of the 
companies act 2006 
approved by the board of directors and signed on its 
behalf by 
philip harris 
company secretary 
4 october 2011  46 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ remuneration report
this report has been prepared in accordance with the relevant conditions of the 2010 uk corporate governance  
code ‘the code’ relating to directors’ remuneration and the companies act 2006 the relevant legislation requires  
the auditors to report to the company’s members on certain disclosures contained in this report and to state whether 
in their opinion that part of the report has been properly prepared in accordance with the companies act 2006  
the report has therefore been divided into separate sections containing audited and unaudited information 
in accordance with the companies act 2006 a resolution to approve this report will be proposed at the company’s 
annual general meeting on tuesday 29 november 2011 details of the resolution may be found in the notice 
accompanying this annual report the vote will be advisory but will be considered carefully by the members  
of the committee and the board in the formulation and approval of the company’s future remuneration policies 
unaudited information 
remuneration committee 
the remuneration committee is responsible for determining and agreeing with the board the overall remuneration 
strategy and individual remuneration packages and contractual arrangements for the executive directors senior 
management and the chairman of the board 
the membership the number of meetings held attendances and a description of the business transacted by the 
committee during the year are detailed in the corporate governance section on pages 40 to 42 
when undertaking its duties the committee ensures that due account is taken of pay and employment conditions 
throughout the group by keeping abreast of matters such as i the general level of salary increases if any applied 
throughout the group ii the levels of bonuses paid and bonus opportunity offered to the workforce as a whole and 
iii any widespread changes that are proposed to groupwide employment conditions 
the full terms of reference for the committee are available on the company’s website wwwstivescouk 
committee’s advisers 
throughout the year the committee and the company were advised by aonhewitt limited operating through the 
brand hewitt new bridge street hnbs other than in relation to advice on remuneration neither aonhewitt limited 
nor any other part of the aon corporation group provided other services to the company  
the committee recognises that although the committee fully accepts the independence of hnbs there may be 
occasions when there could be a conflict of interests when proposals are put by management on the recommendation 
of hnbs it therefore retains pricewaterhousecoopers llp ‘pwc’ to act solely for the committee to review proposals 
where appropriate  
pwc has provided pensions consulting services to the company in relation to the group’s defined benefits scheme 
and due diligence work in respect of potential acquisitions the committee is satisfied that the provision of these 
services to the company does not affect pwc’s ability to comment on proposals for remunerating its executive 
directors and certain members of senior management  
during the year under review the committee also where appropriate sought advice and assistance from the 
company secretary and members of the board including the chairman of the board the chief executive and the 
finance director in connection with carrying out its duties none of these persons took part in decisions relating 
specifically to their own remuneration 
remuneration policy 
the committee’s policy for the remuneration of the company’s executive directors is that it should be structured so as 
to attract and retain executives of a high calibre with the skills and experience necessary to develop the company 
successfully it aims to recommend strategies which support the creation of value for shareholders and reflect and 
support the delivery of the company’s strategic priorities while taking due account of market and best practice  
when determining levels of remuneration the committee periodically reviews the remuneration practices adopted by 
appropriate comparator companies both in the market generally and in the same business sector as the company  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 47
the committee believes that a significant portion of the remuneration package of senior executives should be linked  
to performance while ensuring that an appropriate balance is struck between i fixed and variable pay ii shortterm 
and longterm variable pay and iii the delivery of rewards in cash and shares the committee will regularly review the 
company’s remuneration policies to ensure that these polices neither encourage nor reward inappropriate operational 
risktaking that may be to the detriment of shareholders’ interests and that these remuneration policies are therefore 
compatible with the company’s general risk policies and systems 
with regard to the core elements of executive directors’ remuneration to feature in the forthcoming year the committee 
has taken the following approach 
 base salaries remain frozen at the levels payable at the end of 20092010 
 any bonus awarded shall be capped at 125 per cent of basic salary  
 any bonus earned which is in excess of 50 per cent of basic salary shall normally be satisfied by the award of 
shares in the company which shall be held in trust for two years such shares are subject in specified 
circumstances to a ‘clawback’ from any deferred bonus paid going forward 
 a second award will be made under the st ives plc longterm incentive plan ‘ltip’ for which shareholder approval 
was obtained at the 2010 annual general meeting and 
 the committee’s share ownership guideline for executive directors will be retained requiring executive directors 
over a five year period to build up and retain a shareholding equal to 100 per cent of their basic salaries 
 it is currently intended that 50 per cent of the net number of shares received under any bonus share deferral or ltip 
award will normally be retained by the executive director until the share ownership guideline is met the committee 
may take account of progress towards achieving this target when determining ltip awards andor the proportion of 
annual bonus that is subject to share deferral 
the main components of the remuneration package for executive directors are 
basic salary 
in setting the basic salary for each executive director the committee takes into account the performance of each 
individual director any changes in position or responsibility market competitiveness as well as pay and conditions  
in the group as a whole basic salary is the only element of pay that is pensionable 
the basic salary of each executive director for year under review and for the forthcoming year is 
matt armitage £248000
patrick martell £350000
lloyd wigglesworth £248000
save for a modest correctional adjustment in the base salary of matt armitage in the 20092010 financial year this will 
be the third consecutive year of a base salary freeze at executive director level 
benefits in kind  
executive directors may receive benefits in kind which may include the provision of a car fuel and medical expenses 
insurance costs or their cash equivalent  
pension arrangements 
matt armitage and lloyd wigglesworth each participated during the year in the group’s defined contribution pension 
scheme to which the company also contributes 
patrick martell is entitled to a deferred pension from the group’s defined benefits pension scheme and he has not 
participated in the group’s defined contribution scheme 
the defined contribution and defined benefits schemes have a normal retirement age of 65   48 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ remuneration report continued
annual bonus 
bonuses for 20102011  
at the beginning of the year the remuneration committee considered it appropriate for the second year running to  
set a collective target for the executive directors to improve the group’s cashadjusted normalised profit before tax 
‘canpbt’ for 20102011 the executive directors were set a demanding canpbt target of £194 million on the 
achievement of which 50 per cent of the maximum possible bonus would be payable ie 625 per cent of basic 
salary with a maximum bonus 125 per cent of basic salary being earned if canpbt of £214 million or more was 
achieved no bonus would be earned for achieving improved canpbt however if the group’s underlying profit 
before tax from continuing operations for 20102011 failed to reach £154 million all calculations of bonus were to be 
made after charging the cost of the relevant bonus against profit 
the group’s underlying profit before tax from continuing operations was £209 million and the committee has 
determined from audited figures that canpbt was £237 million for 20102011 therefore both conditions were  
met and accordingly each director earned the maximum bonus for the year of 125 per cent of basic salary 
bonus earned by directors in excess of 50 per cent of basic salary would normally be satisfied in the form of shares in 
the company however taking into account each director’s progress towards achieving the share ownership guideline 
referred to above the committee has decided to split the total bonus paid in the proportions 70 per cent in cash and 
30 per cent in shares for matt armitage and patrick martell and 50 per cent in cash and 50 per cent in shares for lloyd 
wigglesworth dependent on the open market price at which the shares are purchased this should take the directors’ 
shareholdings to approximately 40 per cent of their basic salary 
the shares deferral element of the bonus shall be purchased from net pay by the directors in the market or from the 
group’s employee benefit trust ‘the ebt’ to be held under the rules of the directors’ and senior executives’ deferred 
bonus scheme ‘the dbs’ in accordance with the rules of the dbs these shares shall inter alia vest immediately but 
be held on trust during a holding period for release to the director in november 2013 provided that he remains 
employed by the group at that time during the holding period the executive will be entitled to vote the shares and 
receive dividends on them but will be unable to sell transfer assign or charge any interest in the shares during the 
holding period without the consent of the committee in addition part or all of the deferred portion of the bonus can be 
forfeited if it becomes apparent during the holding period that the bonus was paid by reference to materially misstated 
results 
details of the 20102011 bonuses paid to executive directors are disclosed on page 51  
bonuses for 20112012 
the committee has taken the view that prioritising cash generation has been an important element of the company’s 
remuneration strategy with the group having made significant progress during the past two years in returning the 
group to a nongeared position upon reviewing the directors’ priorities for 20112012 however the committee 
concluded that growth in earnings per share supported by personal objectives based on sales growth and the 
integration of the group’s acquisitions would be more appropriate drivers for annual bonuses for the executive 
directors therefore for the forthcoming year directors may again earn a bonus of up to 125 per cent of basic salary 
and their bonus opportunity will be split as follows 
director portion of bonus relating to eps targets portion of bonus relating to personal targets 
patrick martell 125 of basic salary 0 of basic salary 
matt armitage 1125 of basic salary 125 of salary 
lloyd wigglesworth 625 of salary 625 of salary 
as before in the event that the total bonus earned exceeds 50 per cent of basic salary the excess again normally  
will be satisfied in shares under the rules of the dbs part or all of the deferred portion of the bonus however can  
be forfeited if it becomes apparent during the holding period that the bonus was paid by reference to materially 
misstated results   st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 49
share incentive arrangements 
the company now operates the st ives plc longterm incentive plan the ‘ltip’ as the sole longterm incentive plan 
for senior executives the ltip was approved by shareholders at the 2010 annual general meeting 
in line with current practice the ltip provides for the award of ‘performance shares’ up to a maximum potential award 
limit of 125 per cent of basic salary 200 per cent in exceptional circumstances the committee takes the view that 
this limit allows for market competitive grants to be made whilst applying challenging performance conditions the 
performance conditions set for the initial awards made in the year under review were based on i earnings per share 
ii the increase in ‘added value’ attributable to nonprint activities and iii relative total shareholder return as 
described more fully on pages 53 and 54 
the committee is aware that the use of three different performance metrics is not common but is firmly of the belief 
that the ltip should be operated with the group’s specific circumstances and challenges in mind the adoption of 
three metrics was finally determined after consultation with a number of major shareholders consequently and having 
reviewed the operation of the ltip it is intended to make awards under the ltip in the forthcoming year it is currently 
intended to apply the same three performance metrics as last year and whilst the exact targets have not yet been 
finalised these will be no less challenging than last year’s 
the committee does not currently consider it necessary to apply any “clawback” provision to ltip awards noting that 
a clawback feature does form part of the annual bonus but will keep this matter under review 
the company has in the past operated two discretionary sharebased incentive plans these plans expire shortly after 
the forthcoming annual general meeting and were replaced last year by the ltip and as a result no awards were 
made under these plans last year 
a summary of the expiring plans are as follows 
discretionary executive share option scheme 2001 ‘esos 2001’ 
the esos 2001 which has both hmrc ‘approved’ and ‘unapproved’ elements provided for the grant of options to 
participants over shares having a market value of up to 150 per cent of salary in any year 400 per cent in exceptional 
circumstances options granted and outstanding under the esos 2001 are capable of exercise three years after 
grant subject to continued employment and the satisfaction of performance conditions the final award of options to 
executive directors under this plan was made on 3 november 2009 further details of which are set out on page 52 
equity partnership plan 2001 ‘epp 2001’ 
executive directors and certain members of senior management have also in the past been invited to participate  
in the epp 2001 under which awards could have been made over shares subject to an initial investment in shares  
by participants  
no invitations have been made under the epp 2001 since november 2004 and no participant has an outstanding 
entitlement to matching shares under the terms of the plan  
save as you earn scheme ‘saye scheme’ 
the company has also in the past operated a standard allemployee saye scheme under which eligible employees 
including executive directors were from time to time invited to participate no options remain outstanding under this 
scheme which will also shortly expire 
dilution 
under the ltip awards over no more than 10 per cent of the company’s issued share capital may be granted over 
new issue shares in any rolling ten year period with awards made under any other share plan also being counted 
as at 29 july 2011 awards over 3429000 shares 324 per cent of the company’s issued share capital count 
towards this limit that may be satisfied by new issue shares under the ltip the 2001 esos the epp and the  
saye scheme   50 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ remuneration report continued
nonexecutive directors’ fees 
the company’s policy on setting nonexecutive directors’ remuneration which is decided by the board but with the 
nonexecutive directors not voting where it affects their personal position is to offer fees sufficient to attract and retain 
individuals of appropriate calibre such that they are able to apply an independent view based on their experience and 
skills these fees which have been unchanged since 2007 comprise a base responsibility fee of £30000 per annum 
plus additional fees of £8000 per annum for the post of senior independent director and £4000 per annum for 
chairing the audit and remuneration committees respectively the board has acknowledged that the nonexecutives 
directors’ fees are now out of line with market rates but it has been decided for the time being not to increase the 
fees paid 
the fee paid to the chairman is set separately by the committee miles emley’s fee was £130000 per annum on the 
appointment of richard stillwell the committee took advice and the annual fee payable to the chairman has been set 
by the committee at £120000 per annum on his appointment mr stillwell elected to forego £10000 per annum from 
this fee the company shall donate the sums so withheld to registered charities nominated by mr stillwell with such 
contributions being matched by contributions by the company  
nonexecutive directors may not participate in the group’s cash or sharebased incentive arrangements 
service contracts and letters of appointment 
it is the company’s policy that executive directors should serve under rolling service contracts of twelve months’ 
duration or less and that there should be no special provisions for compensation in the event of termination neither  
in the normal course nor following a change in control of the company and that any compensation payments made 
should take account of the executive’s duty to mitigate his loss this policy was confirmed during the year and the 
service contracts and letters of appointment disclosed below comply with this policy  
the policy on nonexecutive directors’ letters of appointment is that they shall be for an initial period of no more than 
three years but subject to notice at any time during the year the notice periods for nonexecutive directors were 
extended after consideration of market practice and the time involved to recruit suitable candidates to six months’ 
notice in the case of the chairman and to three months’ notice in the case of the other nonexecutive directors 
previously three months’ and one month’s notice respectively 
summaries of the directors’ contracts are disclosed below and brief biographical details are set out on page 39 
directors’ contracts and letters of appointment are available for inspection in accordance with provision a44 of  
the code 
executive date of contract 
unexpired term 
notice period
matt armitage 1 june 2007 12 months
patrick martell 1 august 2003 12 months
lloyd wigglesworth 11 february 2009 12 months
nonexecutive date of letter of appointment notice period
mike butterworth 14 july 2010 3 months
simon marquis 5 december 2003 3 months
richard stillwell 11 august 2006  6 months
tony stuart 23 december 2010 3 months
in accordance with the company’s articles of association richard stillwell and lloyd wigglesworth each retire by 
rotation at the forthcoming annual general meeting tony stuart was appointed to the board on 31 january 2011 and 
holds office until the next annual general meeting the board supports their reelections and being eligible they offer 
themselves for reelection 
external appointments 
executive directors may accept appointments outside the company with the permission of the board the extent to 
which any fees are retained by the individual or are remitted to the company will be considered on a casebycase 
basis no executive director held an external appointment during the year  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 51
audited information 
directors’ remuneration 
the total amounts for directors’ remuneration were as follows 
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
emoluments 22054 20188
termination payments 325 –
gains on exercise of share options – –
money purchase pension contributions 194 181
22573 20369
patrick martell is the highest paid director of the company 
individual directors’ emoluments from the group were as follows 
total emoluments  basic 
salaryfee
note 1 
£’000
cash bonus 
£’000
dbs shares 
£’000
termination 
payments 
note 3  
benefits  
in kind  
note 2  
£’000 
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
executive 
matt armitage 2605 2170 930 – 14 5719 5095
patrick martell 3631 3063 1312 – 53 8059 7253
lloyd wigglesworth  2608 1550 1550 – 19 5727 5450
nonexecutive 
mike butterworth 327 – – – – 327 –
simon marquis 380 – – – – 380 380
richard stillwell 542 – – – – 542 340
tony stuart 162 – – – – 162 –
past directors 
david best to 30 november 2010 113 – – – – 113 340
brian edwards to 3 august 2010 –––– – – 16
miles emley to 25 april 2011 975 – – 325 50 1350 1314
11343 6783 3792 325 136 22379 20188
in respect of dbs shares matt armitage patrick martell and lloyd wigglesworth will acquire shares in the company 
from their net pay that is pay after deduction of income tax and employees’ national insurance contributions of 
£44640 £63000 and £74400 gross pay of £93000 £131250 and £155000 respectively which will be held under 
the terms of the dbs a description of the dbs is given on page 48 
notes 
1 the basic salaries of matt armitage patrick martell and lloyd wigglesworth include additional payments of £12532 £13119 and  
£12815 respectively 2010 – £15533 £nil and £12815 respectively in lieu of the provision of a company car and fuel benefit  
richard stillwell’s fees are shown after foregoing £2500 of fees during 20102011  
2 benefits in kind constitute medical expenses insurance cover for matt armitage patrick martell lloyd wigglesworth and miles emley  
and the provision of a company car and fuel benefit to patrick martell for the period 1 august to 22 september 2010  
3 it was agreed that mr emley would stand down as chairman as a director of the company if the sale of the group’s magazine printing business  
was completed after the approval at a general meeting of shareholders once this was achieved mr emley stood down immediately to allow the 
next phase of the company’s strategy to be considered under a new chairmanship the termination payment made to mr emley represents payment 
in lieu of his three months’ contractual notice  52 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ remuneration report continued
directors’ interests in the share capital of the company 
interests of directors and their connected persons in 10 pence ordinary shares fully paid of the company at  
29 july 2011 were as follows 
29 july  
2011 
31 july 
2010 
or date of 
appointment
 if later
executive 
matt armitage 74752 –
patrick martell 120286 14789
lloyd wigglesworth 30914 10000
nonexecutive 
mike butterworth appointed 1 august 2010 11000 –
simon marquis 3000 3000
richard stillwell 13000 13000
tony stuart appointed 31 january 2011 10000 –
all the above share interests were held beneficially and the information given is accurate as at 4 october 2011 the 
share interests of matt armitage patrick martell and lloyd wigglesworth disclosed above include shares purchased 
from their 20092010 bonuses which are held in the company’s ebt under the rules of the company’s dbs 
directors’ share options and ltip awards 
details of the share options held by directors are shown below all options were granted for nil consideration under the 
esos 2001 
number of options 
date of grant 
30 july  
2010 
exercised 
during year 
lapsed 
during year
granted 
during year
29 july 
2011
exercise 
price pence
date  
from which 
exercisable 
expiry 
date
matt armitage 28 apr 2008 110800 – 110800 – – 23675 28 apr 2011 27 apr 2018
3 nov 2009 544000 – – – 544000 6617 3 nov 2012 2 nov 2019
 654800 – 110800 – 544000
patrick martell 28 apr 2008 152000 – 152000 – – 23675 28 apr 2011 27 apr 2018
3 nov 2009 544000 – – – 544000 6617 3 nov 2012 2 nov 2019
 696000 – 152000 – 544000
lloyd wigglesworth 3 nov 2009 544000 – – – 544000 6617 3 nov 2012 2 nov 2019
the final grant of options awarded by the committee on 3 november 2009 to the executive directors under the esos 
2001 will vest on the achievement in 20112012 of a profit before tax of at least £15 million as follows  
profit before tax 
percentage  of award 
vesting stepped scale
above £15m and below £17m 20
above £17m and below £19m 20
above £19m and below £21m  30
£21m or more 30
unless the committee determines otherwise for the purposes of calculating the group’s profit before tax underlying 
items shall be excluded the committee may make such adjustments to the method of calculating the company’s  
profit before tax as it considers appropriate to take account of a any increase or variation of the share capital of the 
company b any change to accounting standards practices affecting the calculation of profit before tax or c any  
other factors considered by the committee to be relevant  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 53
the options granted in april 2008 to matt armitage and patrick martell lapsed in the year under review as the annual 
eps growth targets of rpi plus 3 to 6 per cent were not met 
details of awards made to directors under the ltip are shown below  
date of award
market price 
per share 
at date
 of award
30 july 
2010
awarded 
during year
29 july 
2011
end of 
performance 
period 
vesting 
date expiry date
matt armitage 5 jan 2011 9775p – 232600 232600 july 2013 5 jan 2014 4 jan 2021
patrick martell 5 jan 2011 9775p – 410500 410500 july 2013 5 jan 2014 4 jan 2021
lloyd wigglesworth 5 jan 2011 9775p – 232600 232600 july 2013 5 jan 2014 4 jan 2021
the vesting of awards made on 5 january 2011 is subject to performance conditions set by the committee over a 
three year period as follows  
a the eps target  
one half of the total number of shares over which an award is granted is subject to an absolute adjusted earnings per 
share ‘eps’ target for these purposes the eps target will be calculated by reference to the adjusted eps as set out 
in the company’s annual report and accounts for the 20122013 financial year subject to such further adjustments 
as the committee considers fair and reasonable no part of the award subject to the eps target will vest unless eps 
for the 20122013 financial year is equal to or greater than 14 pence with full vesting for eps of 16 pence or more  
as follows 
eps for the 20122013  
financial year 
percentage of the total number of shares subject to the eps target that 
will vest 
16 pence or more 100 ie 50 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
from 14 pence to 16 pence between 25 and 100 on a straightline basis ie between 125 and  
50 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
less than 14 pence 0 
b nonprint added value target 
one quarter of the total number of shares over which an award is granted is subject to a target based on the increase 
in ‘added value’ attributable to nonprint activities for the 20122013 financial year and an absolute eps underpin for 
these purposes added value attributable to nonprint activities for the 20122013 financial year will be defined as sales 
less the costs of materials and boughtin costs attributable to nonprint activities such as database marketing preretail 
services and retail consultancy no part of the award subject to the nonprint added value target will vest unless the 
added value attributable to nonprint activities for the 20122013 financial year is equal to 16 per cent with full vesting 
for added value attributable to nonprint activities of 20 per cent or more as follows 
added value attributable to  
nonprint activities for the  
20122013 financial year 
percentage of the total number of shares subject to the nonprint added 
value target that will vest subject to satisfaction of the eps underpin 
20 or more 100 ie 25 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
from 16 to 20 between 25 and 100 on a straightline basis ie between 625 and 
25 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
less than 16 0 
in addition no part of the award subject to the nonprint activities condition described above will vest if eps for the 
20122013 financial year is less than 12 pence unless the committee in its discretion determines otherwise  54 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
directors’ remuneration report continued
c relative tsr target 
one quarter of the total number of shares over which an award is granted is subject to a target measuring the relative 
total shareholder return ‘tsr’ of the company against a comparator group comprising those companies listed in the 
ftse allshare support services sector excluding ftse100 companies on the award date and the satisfaction of an 
absolute eps underpin 
the tsr condition will be measured over a fixed threeyear period and tsr will normally be averaged over the  
threemonth period immediately prior to the commencement of the performance period and the three month period 
immediately preceding the end of the performance period 
no part of the award subject to the tsr target will vest unless the company’s tsr at the end of the performance 
period is at least the median as follows 
rank of the company’s tsr  
against the comparator group at  
the end of the performance period 
percentage of the total number of shares subject to the tsr target that 
will vest subject to satisfaction of the eps underpin 
upper quartile or above 100 ie 25 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
between median and upper quartile between 25 and 100 on a straightline basis ie between 625 and 
25 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
median 25 ie 625 of the total number of shares subject to the award 
below median 0 
in addition no part of the award subject to the tsr condition described above will vest if eps for the 20122013 
financial year is less than 12 pence unless the committee in its discretion determines otherwise 
the market price of st ives plc ordinary shares of 10 pence each at 29 july 2011 was 9238 pence and the range 
during the financial year was 695 pence to 110 pence  
pension 
patrick martell has an entitlement from the group’s defined benefits pension scheme which is disclosed below  
transfer value of  
accrued pension note 1 
accumulated total  
accrued pension note 3 
at 29 july  
2011 
 £’000 
at 30 july  
2010  
£’000 
increase in 
transfer value 
during the year 
less directors’ 
contributions 
note 1 
£’000
increase in 
accrued 
pension during 
the year note 2
 £’000 pa
transfer value 
of increase in 
accrued 
pension less 
directors’ 
contributions 
note 1
 £’000
at 29 july  
2011  
£’000 pa 
at 30 july 
2010 
£’000 pa
patrick martell 10450 9133 1317 04 51 808 779
notes 
1 the transfer values have been calculated on the basis agreed by the trustee of the st ives pension scheme the transfer values disclosed above  
do not represent a sum paid or payable to the individual director instead they represent a potential liability of the defined benefits pension scheme  
2 the increase in the accrued pension during the year shown above excludes any increase arising from the statutory revaluation in deferment up to 
normal retirement age  
3 the accumulated total accrued pension entitlements shown are calculated on service completed to 31 august 2008 the date the scheme ceased 
the accrual of further benefits and then increased to 30 july 2010 and 29 july 2011 in line with increases granted by the scheme total service  
to 31 august 2008 was 23 years 5 months including 5 years 2 months’ service purchased from transfersin to the company’s defined benefits 
pension scheme 
pension contributions made by the company to defined contribution schemes in respect of executive directors are 
shown below 
 2011 
 £’000 
2010
 £’000
matt armitage 97 97
brian edwards resigned 3 august 2009 – 03
lloyd wigglesworth 97 81
194 181 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 55
performance graph 
the graph below shows the company’s performance measured by total shareholder return compared with the 
performance of the ftse small cap index over the past five years the ftse small cap has been chosen as a 
comparator as it represents a broad equity index of which the company has been a constituent member for the 
majority of the relevant five year period  
st ives plc vs ftse small cap – total shareholder return index
200
180
140
160
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
july 2006
st ives plc ftse small cap
july 2007 july 2008 july 2009 july 2010 july 2011
approved by the board and signed on its behalf by 
tony stuart 
chairman of the remuneration committee 
4 october 2011   56 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
statement of directors’ responsibilities
the directors are responsible for preparing the annual 
report directors’ remuneration report and the financial 
statements in accordance with applicable law and 
regulations 
company law requires the directors to prepare financial 
statements for each financial year  
under that law the directors are required to prepare the 
group financial statements in accordance with 
international financial reporting standards ‘ifrss’ as 
adopted by the european union and article 4 of the ias 
regulation and have elected to prepare the parent 
company 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 accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true 
and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of 
the profit or loss of the company for that period  
in preparing the group financial statements international 
accounting standard 1 requires that directors 
 properly select and apply accounting policies 
 present information including accounting policies in a 
manner that provides relevant reliable comparable and 
understandable information  
 provide additional disclosures when compliance with 
the specific requirements in ifrss are insufficient to 
enable users to understand the impact of particular 
transactions other events and conditions on the entity’s 
financial position and financial performance and 
 make an assessment of the company’s ability to 
continue as a going concern 
in preparing the parent company 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 united kingdom accounting 
standards have been followed subject to any material 
departures disclosed and explained in the financial 
statements and 
 prepare the financial statements on the going concern 
basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the 
company will continue in business 
the directors are responsible for keeping adequate 
accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain 
the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable 
accuracy at any time the financial position of the 
company and enable them to ensure that the financial 
statements comply with the companies act 2006 they 
are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the 
company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the 
prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities 
the directors are responsible for the maintenance and 
integrity of the corporate and financial information included 
on the group’s website legislation in the united kingdom 
governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions 
the directors confirm that to the best of their knowledge 
the financial statements prepared in accordance with the 
relevant financial reporting framework give a true and fair 
view of the assets liabilities financial position and profit or 
loss of the company and the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole and the management 
report which is incorporated into the directors’ report 
includes a fair review of the development and 
performance of the business and the position of the 
company and the undertakings included in the 
consolidation taken as a whole together with a 
description of the principal risks and uncertainties that 
they face 
approved by the board of directors and signed on its 
behalf by 
patrick martell 
chief executive 
4 october 2011  independent auditors’ report to the members of st ives plc 
  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 57 
 
we have audited the group financial statements of st ives 
plc for the 52 weeks ended 29 july 2011 which comprise 
the consolidated income statement the consolidated 
balance sheet the consolidated cash flow statement 
the consolidated statement of changes in equity the 
consolidated statement of comprehensive income and 
the related notes 1 to 34 the financial reporting 
framework that has been applied in their preparation is 
applicable law and international financial reporting 
standards ‘ifrss’ as adopted by the european union 
this report is made solely to the company’s members  
as a body in accordance with chapter 3 of part 16 of  
the companies act 2006 our audit work has been 
undertaken so that we might state to the company’s 
members those matters we are required to state to them 
in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose to the 
fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or 
assume responsibility to anyone other than the company 
and the company’s members as a body for our audit 
work for this report or for the opinions we have formed 
respective responsibilities of directors  
and auditors 
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities 
statement 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 ‘apb’s’ ethical standards for auditors 
scope of the audit of the financial statements 
an audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts 
and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to 
give reasonable assurance that the financial statements 
are free from material misstatement whether caused by 
fraud or error this includes an assessment of whether 
the accounting policies are appropriate to the group’s 
circumstances and have been consistently applied  
and adequately disclosed the reasonableness of 
significant accounting estimates made by the directors 
and the overall presentation of the financial statements  
in addition we read all the financial and nonfinancial 
information in the annual report to identify material 
inconsistencies with the audited financial statements  
if we become aware of any apparent material 
misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the 
implications for our report 
opinion on financial statements 
in our opinion the group financial statements 
• give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s 
affairs as at 29 july 2011 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 and  
article 4 of the ias regulation 
separate opinion in relation to ifrss as issued 
by the iasb 
as explained in note 1 to the group financial statements 
the group in addition to complying with its legal obligation 
to apply ifrss as adopted by the european union  
has also applied ifrss as issued by the international 
accounting standards board ‘iasb’ 
in our opinion the group financial statements comply with 
ifrss as issued by the iasb 
opinion on other matter prescribed by the 
companies act 2006 
in our opinion the information given in the directors’ 
report for the financial year for which the financial 
statements are prepared is consistent with the group 
financial statements 
matters on which we are required to report  
by exception 
we have nothing to report in respect of the following 
under the companies act 2006 we are required 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 
under the listing rules we are required to review 
• the directors’ statement contained within the directors’ 
report in relation to going concern and 
• the part of the corporate governance statement 
relating to the company’s compliance with the nine 
provisions of the uk corporate governance code 
specified for our review 
other matter 
we have reported separately on the parent company 
financial statements of st ives plc for the 52 weeks ended 
29 july 2011 and on the information in the directors’ 
remuneration report that is described as having  
been audited  
 
peter o’donoghue senior statutory auditor 
for and on behalf of deloitte llp 
chartered accountants and statutory auditors  
london united kingdom 
4 october 2011 
 
note 
an audit does not provide assurance on the maintenance and integrity of the website including controls used to achieve this and in particular on whether 
any changes may have occurred to the financial statements since first published these matters are the responsibility of the directors but no control 
procedures can provide absolute assurance in this area legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial 
statements differs from legislation in other jurisdictions  58 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated income statement
52 weeks to 29 july 2011 52 weeks to 30 july 2010 note 
underlying
£’000
non
underlying
note 7
£’000
total 
£’000
underlying
£’000
non 
underlying 
note 7 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
revenue 3 4 296790 454 297244 291430 39 291469 
cost of sales 217284 4645 221929 217002 2758 219760
gross profit 79506 4191 75315 74428 2719 71709 
selling costs 24160 276 24436 21944 142 22086
administrative expenses 34207 3842 38049 34003 3375 37378
other operating income 181 4300 4481 271 1614 1885 
profitloss from operations 4 5 21320 4009 17311 18752 4622 14130 
investment income 8 13973 – 13973 13267 – 13267 
finance costs 9 14388 – 14388 14222 – 14222
profitloss before tax 20905 4009 16896 17797 4622 13175 
income tax chargecredit 10 5764 2692 3072 5607 3633 1974
profitloss for the period from  
continuing operations 15141 1317 13824 12190 989 11201 
loss from discontinued operations 12 1312 17273 18585 2248 1215 3463
net profitloss for the period 13829 18590 4761 9942 2204 7738 
attributable to 
shareholders of the parent company 13748 18551 4803 9942 2204 7738 
noncontrolling interests 81 39 42 –– – 
13829 18590 4761 9942 2204 7738 
basic earnings per share p
from continuing operations 14 1445 123 1322 1183 096 1087 
from continuing and discontinued operations 14 1319 1780 461 965 214 751 
diluted earnings per share p
from continuing operations 14 1436 122 1314 1183 096 1087 
from continuing and discontinued operations 14 1311 1769 458 965 214 751 
† the results for the prior period have been reclassified to show the magazine printing business as a discontinued operation 
  nonunderlying items comprise restructuring charges provision releases operating results of noncontinuing operations amortisation of acquired 
intangibles and other oneoff items  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 59
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
52 weeks to 
29 july
2011
 £’000
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
lossprofit for the period 4761 7738
actuarial gains on defined benefits pension schemes 16696 3835
transfers of gains on cash flow hedges to hedged items 59 209
gains on cash flow hedges taken directly to comprehensive income 4 59
tax charge on items taken directly to comprehensive income 4697 1367
other comprehensive income for the period 11944 2318
total comprehensive income for the period 7183 10056
attributable to 
shareholders of the parent company 7141 10056
noncontrolling interests 42 –
7183 10056 60 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated statement of changes in equity
share 
capital 
£’000 
share 
premium 
£’000 
esop 
reserve 
£’000 
capital 
redemption 
reserve
£’000
share 
option 
reserve
 £’000
hedging 
and 
translation 
reserve
£’000
other 
reserves
£’000
retained 
earnings 
£’000
non
controlling 
interest 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
balance at  
31 july 2009 10355 46689 1913 1238 – 157 46171 65542 – 122068 
profit for the period – – – – – – – 7738 – 7738 
other comprehensive 
lossincome for 
the period – – – – – 114 114 2432 – 2318 
comprehensive 
incomeloss for 
the period – – – – – 114 114 10170 – 10056 
dividends – – – – – – – 2318 – 2318
issue of share capital 3 17 – – – – 17 – – 20 
recognition of share
based payments – – – – 60 – 60 – – 60 
balance at  
30 july 2010 10358 46706 1913 1238 60 43 46134 73394 – 129886 
loss for the period – – – – – – – 4803 42 4761
other comprehensive 
lossincome for 
the period – – – – – 39 39 11983 – 11944 
comprehensive 
lossincome for 
the period – – – – – 39 39 7180 42 7183 
arising on acquisition 
of subsidiary – – – – – – – – 620 620 
dividends – – – – – – – 3616 – 3616
issue of share capital 227 1834 769 – – – 2603 606 – 2224 
recognition of share
based payments – – – – 284 – 284 – – 284 
balance at  
29 july 2011 10585 48540 1144 1238 344 4 48982 76352 662 136581  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 61
consolidated balance sheet
note 
29 july
2011
£’000
30 july
2010
£’000
assets 
noncurrent assets
property plant and equipment 15 62376 107438
goodwill 16 67443 54383
other intangible assets  16 11522 4683
financial assets 17 2429 3495
deferred tax assets 18 – 1355
other noncurrent assets 20 – 202
143770 171556
current assets 
inventories 19 7182 10112
trade and other receivables 20 65110 68148
current tax receivable – 568
derivative financial instruments  20 4 59
cash and cash equivalents 20 16262 10515
assets held for sale 21 – 2140
88558 91542
total assets 232328 263098
liabilities 
current liabilities 
trade and other payables 22 69255 79920
income tax payable 3283 –
deferred consideration payable 11 1677 –
deferred income 24 376 934
provisions 25 1626 3752
76217 84606
noncurrent liabilities 
loans 23 – 13193
retirement benefits obligations 26 12295 32887
deferred consideration payable 11 2621 –
deferred income 24 – 593
provisions 25 687 666
deferred tax liabilities 18 3927 1267
19530 48606
total liabilities 95747 133212
net assets 136581 129886
equity 
capital and reserves 
share capital 28 10585 10358
other reserves 48982 46134
retained earnings 76352 73394
attributable to shareholders of the parent company 135918 129886
noncontrolling interests 662 –
total equity 136581 129886
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 4 october 2011 and signed on its behalf by 
patrick martell  matt armitage 
chief executive  finance director  62 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
consolidated cash flow statement
 note
52 weeks to  
29 july 
2011 
 £’000 
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
operating activities 
cash generated from operations 29 22282 37222
interest paid 1079 1160
income taxes paidreceived 1323 744
net cash generated from operating activities 19880 36806
investing activities 
purchase of property plant and equipment 6814 11245
purchase of other intangibles 2070 804
proceeds on disposal of property plant and equipment 9263 4584
disposal proceeds of subsidiary net of cash disposed 12 14772 –
acquisition of subsidiary net of cash acquired 11 12170 10517
net cash generated fromused in investing activities 2981 17982
financing activities 
dividends paid 13 3616 2318
decrease in bank loans 13494 20000
net cash used in financing activities 17110 22318
net increasedecrease in cash and cash equivalents 5751 3494
cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period 10515 14016
effect of foreign exchange rate changes 4 7
cash and cash equivalents at end of period 29 16262 10515 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 63
notes to the consolidated financial statements
1 general information 
st ives plc is a company incorporated in england and wales under the companies act 2006 the address of the 
registered office is one tudor street london ec4y 0ah the nature of the group’s operations and its principal
activities are set out in the business review pages 6 to 31 
these consolidated financial statements ‘the financial statements’ are presented in sterling because this is the 
currency of the primary economic environment in which the group operates 
in the current year the following revised standards and interpretations have been adopted 
amendments to ifrs 2 jun 2009 group cashsettled sharebased payment transactions 
amendments to ias 32 oct 2009 classification of rights issues 
two interpretations issued by the international financial reporting interpretations committee are effective for the 
current period 
ifric 11  ifrs 2 – group and treasury share transactions  
ifric 19  extinguishing financial liabilities with equity  
at the date of authorisation of these financial statements the following standards amendments and interpretations 
which have not been applied in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective and in some cases had 
not yet been adopted by the eu the group does not currently believe the adoption of these pronouncements will 
have a material impact on the consolidated results financial position or cash flows of the group 
ifrs 9  financial instruments this standard is mandatory for accounting periods effective after  
1 january 2012 
ias 24 revised related party disclosures this standard is mandatory for accounting periods effective after 
1 january 2011 
ifric 14 prepayments of a minimum funding requirement this standard is mandatory for 
accounting periods effective after 1 january 2011 
ifrs 10 consolidated financial statements this standard is mandatory for accounting periods 
effective after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 7 amendments financial instruments disclosure this standard is mandatory for accounting periods 
effective after 1 july 2011 
ifrs 1 amendments severe hyperinflation and removal of fixed dates for firsttimer adopters this standard is 
mandatory for accounting periods effective after 1 july 2011 
ifrs 11  joint arrangements this standard is mandatory for accounting periods effective after  
1 january 2013 
ias 28 revised investments in associates and joint ventures this standard is mandatory for accounting 
periods effective after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 12 disclosure of interest in other entities this standard is mandatory for accounting periods 
effective after 1 january 2013 
ifrs 13 fair value measurement this standard is mandatory for accounting periods effective after  
1 january 2013 
ias 1 amendments presentation of items of other comprehensive income this standard is mandatory for 
accounting periods effective after 1 july 2012 
ias 19 revised employee benefits this standard is mandatory for accounting periods effective after  
1 january 2013 
ias 12 amendments deferred tax recovery of underlying assets this standard is mandatory for accounting 
periods effective after 1 january 2012 
in addition ‘improvements to ifrss 2010’ includes amendments to a number of standards and interpretations  
the effective date of all the amendments is for annual periods beginning on or after 1 january 2011  64 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
2 significant accounting policies 
the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with international financial reporting standards ‘ifrs’ 
adopted by the european union and ifrss as issued by the international accounting standards board ‘iasb’ 
the financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis except for the revaluation of financial 
instruments the significant accounting policies adopted are set out below  
in the process of applying the group’s accounting policies management has made judgements as to the policies 
that have the most significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements the accounting 
estimates and assumptions that management considers to be its critical accounting estimations are detailed and 
explained in the financial review 
going concern 
the directors have at the time of approving the financial statements a reasonable expectation that the company 
and the group have 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 financial statements further detail is 
contained in the business review on page 11 
a basis of consolidation 
the consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the company and entities controlled  
by the company its subsidiary undertakings for each period control is achieved where the company has the  
power to govern the financial and operating policies of an investee entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities 
the results of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the period are included in the consolidated income 
statement from the effective date of acquisition or up to the effective date of disposal as appropriate  
the consolidated income statement does not consolidate line by line the trading of operations classified as 
discontinued operations these are shown on a single line under ‘profitloss from discontinued operations’  
in the consolidated income statement  
certain balance sheet comparatives have been restated to reflect changes in presentation  
where necessary adjustments are made to the results of subsidiaries to bring their accounting policies into line with 
those of the group all intragroup transactions balances income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation 
b columnar classification in the income statement 
income statement items are presented in the middle column under the heading ‘nonunderlying items’ if they are 
significant in size and do not occur in the normal course of business or if they comprise the operating results of  
a site arising after a formal decision on its closure has been taken where that site does not meet the definition of a 
discontinued operation under ifrs 5 – assets held for sale and discontinued operations in which case the site and 
its activities are referred to as a ‘noncontinuing operation’ or if they comprise amortisation charges on acquired 
intangible assets 
c revenue recognition 
revenue 
revenue is measured at the fair value of consideration received or receivable and comprises amounts receivable  
for goods and services net of trade discounts upfront payments vat and other salesrelated taxes revenue is 
recognised in the income statement when the significant risks and rewards of ownership are transferred to the 
customer normally on shipment of the product 
income from advance billings is deferred and realised to revenue when conditions for its recognition have been fulfilled 
interest income 
interest income is accrued on a time basis by reference to the principal outstanding and at the effective interest  
rate applicable  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 65
d intangible assets 
goodwill 
goodwill arising on the acquisition of a subsidiary represents the excess of the cost of the acquisition over the net 
fair value of the identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities of the subsidiary at the date of the acquisition
fair value is finalised within 12 months of the date of the acquisition goodwill is not amortised but reviewed for 
impairment annually in accordance with the impairment of goodwill policy set out below 
other intangible assets – computer software 
computer software that is not integral to an item of property plant or equipment is classified as an intangible asset 
and is held on the balance sheet at cost these assets are amortised over their estimated useful lives which is 
generally two to five years 
other intangible assets – customer relationships  
customer relationships identified as separable intangible assets in the context of business combinations are 
capitalised at their fair value at the date of acquisition they are amortised over their estimated useful lives which is 
eight years  
e property plant and equipment 
property plant and equipment held for use in the production or supply of goods or for administration purposes is 
stated in the balance sheet at deemed cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses 
costs are recognised as an asset only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will 
flow to the group and the cost of the item can be measured reliably all repairs and maintenance are charged to the 
income statement during the period in which they are incurred  
assets in the course of construction are carried at cost less any recognised impairment loss cost includes 
professional fees depreciation of these assets commences when the assets are ready for their intended use 
freehold land is not depreciated 
depreciation is charged other than on freehold land and assets under the course of construction so as to write off 
the cost or valuation of assets over their estimated useful lives using the straightline method on the following basis 
freehold buildings 2 – 4
long leases period of lease
plant and machinery 10 – 33
1

3

fixture fittings and equipment 10 – 33
1

3

motor vehicles 20 – 25
the gain or loss arising on the disposal or retirement of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale 
proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset and is recognised in the income statement 
f impairment of property plant and intangible assets excluding goodwill 
at each balance sheet date the group reviews the carrying amounts of its property plant and equipment and 
intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered any impairment loss 
if any such indication exists the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the 
impairment loss if any where the asset does not generate cash flows that are independent from other assets the 
group estimates the recoverable amount of the cashgenerating unit to which the assets belongs 
the recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and valueinuse in assessing valueinuse the 
estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pretax discount rate that reflects current 
market assessment of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future 
cash flows have not been adjusted   66 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
2 significant accounting policies continued
if the recoverable amount of an asset or cashgenerating unit is estimated to be less than its carrying amount the 
carrying amount of the asset cashgenerating unit is reduced to its recoverable amount an impairment loss is 
recognised immediately as an expense in the income statement  
where an impairment loss subsequently reverses the carrying amount of the asset cashgenerating unit is 
increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount but so that the increased carrying amount does not 
exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the  
asset cashgenerating unit in prior years  
a reversal of an impairment loss is recognised as income immediately in the income statement 
g impairment of goodwill 
goodwill arising on acquisition is allocated to the group of cashgenerating units that are expected to benefit from  
the synergies of the combination a cashgenerating unit represents the lowest level at which goodwill is monitored  
by the group’s board of directors for internal management purposes the recoverable amount of the group of  
cashgenerating units to which goodwill has been allocated is tested for impairment annually on a consistent date 
during each financial year or more frequently when such events or changes in circumstances indicate that it may  
be impaired 
any impairment is recognised immediately in the income statement impairments of goodwill are not  
subsequently reversed 
h assets held for sale 
assets held for sale are measured at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell noncurrent 
assets are classified as held for sale if their carrying amount will be recovered through a sale transaction rather than 
through continuing use this condition is regarded as met only when the sale is highly probable and the asset is 
available for immediate sale in its present condition management must be committed to the sale which should be 
expected to qualify for recognition as a completed sale within one year from the date of classification 
i inventories 
inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value 
cost comprises direct materials and where applicable direct labour costs and those production overheads that 
have been incurred in bringing the inventories to their present location and condition cost is valued on a first in first 
out ‘fifo’ basis net realisable value is the estimated selling price less the estimated costs of completion and costs 
to be incurred in selling and distribution 
j tax 
the tax expense in the income statement comprises tax currently payable and deferred tax 
the tax currently payable is based on the taxable profit for the year taxable profit differs from net profit as reported 
in the income statement because it excludes items of income and expense that are taxable or deductible in other 
years and it further excludes items that are never taxable or deductible the group’s liability for current tax is 
calculated using tax rates that have been enacted or substantively enacted at the balance sheet date 
deferred tax is recognised on differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities in the accounts and 
the corresponding tax bases used in the computation of taxable profit and is accounted for using the balance sheet 
liability method deferred tax liabilities are generally recognised for all taxable temporary differences and deferred 
tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that taxable profits will be available against which 
deductible temporary differences can be utilised such assets and liabilities are not recognised if the temporary 
differences arise on goodwill or from the initial recognition other than business combinations of other assets or 
liabilities in a transaction that affects neither the tax profit nor the accounting profit  
deferred tax liabilities are recognised for taxable temporary differences arising on investments in subsidiaries 
except where the group is able to control the reversal of the temporary difference and it is probable that the 
temporary difference will not reverse in the foreseeable future  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 67
the carrying amount of deferred tax assets is reviewed at each balance sheet date and is reduced to the extent that  
it is no longer probable that sufficient taxable profits will be available to allow all or part of the asset to be recovered 
deferred tax is calculated at the tax rates that are expected to apply in the period when the liability is settled or the 
asset is realised deferred tax is charged or credited to the income statement except where it relates to items 
charged or credited directly to equity in which case the deferred tax is also dealt with in equity  
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to offset current assets against 
current liabilities and when they relate to income taxes levied by the same taxation authority and the group intends  
to settle its current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis  
k government grants 
government grants relating to property plant and equipment are treated as deferred income and released to the 
income statement over a period to match the expected useful lives of the assets to which they relate grant income  
is recognised separately from the related expense 
l provisions 
provisions are recognised when the group has a present obligation as a result of a past event and it is probable 
that the group will be required to settle the obligation and its value can be reliably estimated when a provision 
needs to be released the provision is taken back to the income statement within the line where it was initially 
booked 
provisions for repairs 
provisions for repairs are made where the group is committed under the terms of the lease to make repairs to 
leasehold property the provision is made for the estimated cost over the period of the lease 
provisions for restructuring costs 
provisions for restructuring costs are recognised when the group has a detailed formal plan for the restructuring  
that has been communicated to affected parties 
m foreign currencies 
transactions in foreign currencies other than sterling are translated at the exchange rate ruling at the date of the 
transaction monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet date are 
translated to sterling at the exchange rate ruling at that date 
foreign currency differences arising on translation or settlement of monetary items are recognised in the income 
statement nonmonetary assets and liabilities that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency  
are translated using the exchange rate at the date of the transaction and not retranslated each period end non
monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies that are stated at fair value are translated to 
sterling at exchange rates ruling at the date the fair value was determined exchange gains and losses arising on 
the retranslation of nonmonetary assets and liabilities are recognised directly in a separate component of equity  
on consolidation the assets and liabilities of the group’s foreign operations are translated into sterling at the rates 
prevailing at the balance sheet date income and expense items and the cash flows of foreign operations are 
translated at the average exchange rates for the period except for individually material items which may be 
translated at the exchange rate on the date of the transaction exchange differences arising on retranslation of  
nonmonetary assets and liabilities are recognised directly in a separate component of equity  
such translation differences are recognised in the income statement in the period in which the foreign operation  
is disposed of 
goodwill and fair value adjustments arising on the acquisition of a foreign operation are treated as assets and 
liabilities of the foreign operation and translated at the closing rate  68 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
2 significant accounting policies continued
n borrowing costs 
borrowing costs directly attributable to the acquisition construction or production of qualifying assets which are 
assets that necessarily take a substantial period of time to get ready for their intended use or sale are added to the 
cost of those assets until such time as the assets are substantially ready for their intended use or sale 
investment income earned on the temporary investment of specific borrowings pending their expenditure on 
qualifying assets is deducted from the borrowing costs eligible for capitalisation 
all other borrowing costs are recognised in profit or loss in the period in which they are incurred 
o financial instruments 
financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised in the group’s balance sheet when the group becomes a 
party to the contractual provisions of the instrument 
trade receivables 
trade receivables do not carry any interest and are stated at their nominal value as reduced by appropriate 
allowances for estimated irrecoverable amounts allowances are recognised in the income statement when there  
is objective evidence that their asset is impaired 
cash and cash equivalents 
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash in hand and demand deposits 
bank borrowings 
interestbearing bank loans and overdrafts are recorded as the proceeds receivable net of direct issue costs 
finance charges are accounted for on an accruals basis to the income statement using the effective interest rate 
method and are included in creditors to the extent that they are not settled in the period in which they arise 
unsecured loan notes 
floating rate guaranteed loan notes are recorded at their nominal value interest payable is accounted for on an 
accruals basis to the income statement using the effective interest rate method and is included in creditors to the 
extent that it is not settled in the period in which it arises 
trade payables 
trade payables are not interest bearing and are stated at their nominal value 
derivative financial instruments and hedge accounting 
the group’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and 
interest rates the group uses derivative financial instruments to hedge its exposure to foreign exchange for the 
purchase of capital equipment denominated in foreign currencies and the sale of goods similarly denominated 
the use of financial derivatives is governed by the group’s policies approved by the board of directors which 
provide written principles on the use of financial derivatives consistent with the group’s risk management strategy 
the group does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes 
changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments that are designated and effective as cash flow hedges  
of forecast transactions are recognised directly in equity and the ineffective portion is recognised immediately in the 
income statement 
if the cash flow hedge of a firm commitment or forecast transaction results in the recognition of an asset or liability 
then at the time the asset or liability is recognised the associated gains and losses on the derivative that had 
previously been recognised in equity are included in the initial measurements of the asset or liability for the hedges 
that do not result in the recognition of an asset or liability amounts deferred in equity are recognised in the income 
statement in the same period on which the hedged item affects the net profit and loss 
the gain or loss on hedging instruments relating to the effective portion of a net investment hedge is recognised in 
equity and the ineffective portion is recognised immediately in the income statement gains or losses accumulated  
in equity are included in the income statement when the foreign operations are disposed of  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 69
hedge accounting is discontinued when the hedging instrument expires or is sold terminated or exercised or no 
longer qualifies for hedge accounting 
at that time any cumulative gain or loss on the hedging instrument recognised in equity is retained in equity until  
the forecast transition occurs if a hedge transaction is no longer expected to occur the net cumulative gain or loss 
previously recognised in equity is included in the income statement for the period 
derivatives embedded in other financial instruments or other host contracts are treated as separate derivatives when 
their risks and characteristics are not closely related to those of their host contracts and the host contracts are not 
carried at fair value with unrealised gains or losses reported in the income statement 
those derivatives which are not designed as hedges are classified as held for trading and gains and losses on 
those instruments are recognised immediately in the income statement 
p retirement benefits 
the group operates both defined benefits and defined contribution schemes for its employees payments to the 
defined contribution schemes are expensed to the income statement as they fall due 
for the defined benefits pension scheme full actuarial calculations are carried out every three years using the 
projected unit credit method and updates are performed for each financial year end actuarial gains and losses  
are recognised in full in the period in which they occur they are recognised outside the income statement and 
presented in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income 
the retirement benefits obligation recognised in the balance sheet represents the present value of the defined 
benefits obligations and unrecognised past service costs and as reduced by the fair value of the scheme’s assets 
any asset resulting from this calculation is limited to past service costs plus the present value of available refunds 
and reductions to the scheme 
past service cost is recognised immediately to the extent that the benefits are already vested and otherwise is 
amortised on a straightline basis over the average period until the benefits become vested 
q sharebased payments 
the group makes equitysettled sharebased payments to certain employees which are measured at fair value  
at the date of the grant the fair value determined at the grant date of the equitysettled sharebased payments  
is expensed on a straightline basis over the vesting period based on the group’s estimate of shares that will 
eventually vest the fair value of share options issued is measured using a binomial model for the effects of  
nontransferability exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations 
r leases 
leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease transfer substantially all the risks and 
rewards of ownership to the lessee all other leases are classified as operating leases 
rental costs under operating leases are charged to the income statement in equal amounts over the terms  
of the lease 
assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets of the group at their fair value or if lower the present 
value of the minimum lease payments each determined at the inception of the lease the corresponding liability to 
the lessor is included in the balance sheet as a finance lease obligation lease payments are apportioned between 
finance charges and reduction of the lease obligation so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on the remaining 
balance of the liability 
s business combinations 
acquisitions of subsidiaries and businesses are accounted for using the acquisition method the consideration for 
each acquisition is measured at the aggregate of the fair values at the date of exchange of assets given liabilities 
incurred or assumed and equity instruments issued by the group in exchange for control of the acquiree 
acquisitionrelated costs are recognised in profit or loss as incurred  70 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
2 significant accounting policies continued
s business combinations continued
where applicable the consideration for the acquisition includes any asset or liability resulting from a contingent 
consideration arrangement measured at its acquisitiondate fair value subsequent changes in such fair values  
are adjusted against the cost of acquisition where they qualify as measurement period adjustments see below  
all other subsequent changes in the fair value of contingent consideration classified as an asset or liability are 
accounted for in accordance with relevant ifrss changes in the fair value of contingent consideration classified  
as equity are not recognised 
where a business combination is achieved in stages the group’s previouslyheld interests in the acquired entity are 
remeasured to fair value at the acquisition date ie the date the group attains control and the resulting gain or loss 
if any is recognised in profit or loss amounts arising from interests in the acquiree prior to the acquisition date that 
have previously been recognised in other comprehensive income are reclassified to profit or loss where such 
treatment would be appropriate if that interest were disposed of 
the acquiree’s identifiable assets liabilities and contingent liabilities that meet the conditions for recognition under 
ifrs 32008 are recognised at their fair value at the acquisition date except that 
 deferred tax assets or liabilities and liabilities or assets related to employee benefit arrangements are recognised 
and measured in accordance with ias 12 income taxes and ias 19 employee benefits respectively 
 liabilities or equity instruments related to the replacement by the group of an acquiree’s sharebased payment 
awards are measured in accordance with ifrs 2 sharebased payment and 
 assets or disposal groups that are classified as held for sale in accordance with ifrs 5 noncurrent assets held 
for sale and discontinued operations are measured in accordance with that standard 
if the initial accounting for a business combination is incomplete by the end of the reporting period in which the 
combination occurs the group reports provisional amounts for the items for which the accounting is incomplete 
those provisional amounts are adjusted during the measurement period see below or additional assets or 
liabilities are recognised to reflect new information obtained about facts and circumstances that existed as of the 
acquisition date that if known would have affected the amounts recognised as of that date 
the measurement period is the period from the date of acquisition to the date the group obtains complete 
information about facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date and is subject to a maximum of 
one year 
the value of noncontrolling interests in subsidiaries is calculated initially as their share of identifiable net assets  
and is subsequently adjusted by their share of comprehensive income  
t critical accounting judgements 
in the course of applying the group’s accounting policies the following estimations have been made which could  
have a significant effect on the results of the group were they subsequently found to be inappropriate 
impairment of goodwill 
determining whether goodwill is impaired requires an estimation of the valueinuse of the cashgenerating units  
for which goodwill has been identified in arriving at the value in use an estimation of the future cash flows of  
cashgenerating units and selecting appropriate discount rates is required to calculate present values a process 
which involves estimation the recoverability analysis indicates that the carrying amount of goodwill will be 
recovered in full the situation will be monitored closely should future developments indicate that adjustments are 
appropriate the carrying value of goodwill at the balance sheet date was £674 million 2010 – £544 million  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 71
impairment of plant and machinery 
the group considers the recoverability of plant and machinery which is included within the balance sheet at  
£648 million the key areas of judgement when assessing the recoverability of these assets are in relation to the 
forecast growth rates and discount rates to be applied to forecast cash flows the recoverability analysis at the end  
of the period indicated that an impairment of £35 million was required in respect of assets located at the blackburn 
bradford and leeds sites recorded within the print segment following a continued decline in the markets served  
by these sites 
retirement benefits obligations 
the calculation of retirement benefits obligations requires estimates to be made of discount rates inflation rates 
future salary and pension increases and mortality the net liability in the balance sheet for retirement benefits 
obligations is £123 million 2010 – £329 million 
allowances against amounts receivable  
the group considers the recoverability of certain customer and other receivable balances determining whether  
an allowance against these balances is required involves an assessment of the ability of counterparties to make 
required payments if the financial positions of the counterparties were to deteriorate affecting their ability to make 
payments additional allowances may be required in future periods the group maintains credit insurance covering 
its larger trade debtors a rigorous system of credit control is applied and amounts receivable are continually 
monitored management specifically monitors historical bad debt counterparty creditworthiness current economic 
trends and changes in payment patterns when evaluating the adequacy of the allowances in place 
3 revenue 
an analysis of the group’s revenue as defined by international accounting standard 18 − ‘revenue’ is as follows 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
continuing operations 
revenue from the sale of goods and rendering of services 297244 291469
investment income note 8 13973 13267
311217 304736
discontinued operations 
revenue note 12 51248 70787
total revenue 362465 375523
4 segment reporting 
the group manages its business on a market segment basis following a change in the way resources are allocated 
by the board the group’s chief operating decision maker and in light of the increased proportion of investment in  
nonprint businesses the reporting segments were redefined in the period as print and marketing services the print 
segment comprises the group’s books business previously reported within the media products segment and all the 
business that were reported within the commercial products segment except occam the database marketing 
services business occam is now reported within the marketing services segment together with tactical solutions  
the field marketing services business acquired in the period the results of the group’s magazine printing business 
previously reported under the media products segment are reported within discontinued operations the nature of 
the market segments is described in the business review   72 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
4 segment reporting continued
the changes noted above did not result in any misstatement of the prior period reported balance sheet inter
segment sales are charged at arm’s length prices corporate costs before nonunderlying items are allocated to 
revenuegenerating segments as this better reflects their profitability 
52 weeks to 29 july 2011 
print
£’000
marketing 
services  
£’000 
total 
£’000 
revenue 
underlying revenue 282736 14054 296790 
nonunderlying revenue 454 – 454 
total revenue 283190 14054 297244 
result 
result before nonunderlying items 20870 450 21320 
nonunderlying items 2483 1526 4009
profit from operations 18387 1076 17311 
investment income    13973 
finance costs 14388
profit before tax 16896 
income tax charge 3072
profit for the period from continuing operations 13824
business segments 
52 weeks to 29 july 2011
continuing
operations
£’000
discontinued 
operations 
£’000 
total
£’000
revenue 
underlying revenue 296790 51248 348038
nonunderlying revenue 454 – 454
total revenue 297244 51248 348492
result 
result before nonunderlying items 21320 506 20814
nonunderlying items 4009 16905 20914
profit from operations 17311 17411 100 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 73
52 weeks to 30 july 2010 restated 
print 
£’000 
marketing 
services 
£’000
total
£’000
revenue
underlying revenue 290542 888 291430
nonunderlying revenue 39 –39
total revenue 290581 888 291469
result 
segmental result before nonunderlying items 18968 216 18752
nonunderlying items 4097 525 4622
profit from operations 14871 741 14130
investment income 13267
finance costs 14222
profit before tax    13175
income tax charge    1974
profit for the period from continuing operations    11201
continuing 
operations 
£’000 
discontinued
operations
£’000
total
£’000
revenue 
underlying revenue 291430 70489 361919
nonunderlying revenue 39 298 337
total revenue 291469 70787 362256
result 
result before nonunderlying items 18752 2739 16013
nonunderlying items 4622 1687 6309
profit from operations  14130 4426 9704
other information  
52 weeks to 29 july 2011
print
£’000
marketing 
services  
£’000 
discontinued 
operations
£’000
total
£’000
capital additions 8850 530 93 9473
depreciation and amortisation 9914 1478 3111 14503
impairments 3508 – 13526 17034
52 weeks to 30 july 2010 restated
print
£’000
marketing 
services  
£’000 
discontinued 
operations
£’000
total
£’000
capital additions 4973 5 3304 8282
depreciation and amortisation 11431 137 7491 19059
impairments 1171– –1171 74 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
4 segment reporting continued
balance sheet 
52 weeks to 29 july 2011
print
£’000
marketing 
services 
£’000
discontinued 
operations 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
assets 
segment assets 176214 37423 – 213637 
unallocated corporate assets 18691 
consolidated total assets 232328 
liabilities 
segment liabilities 72300 3942 – 76242 
unallocated corporate liabilities 19505 
consolidated total liabilities 95747 
52 weeks to 31 july 2010 restated
print
£’000
marketing 
services 
£’000
discontinued 
operations 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
assets 
segment assets 183385 13157 50623 247165 
unallocated corporate assets 15933 
consolidated total assets 263098 
liabilities 
segment liabilities 67663 2049 16153 85865 
unallocated corporate liabilities 47347 
consolidated total liabilities 133212 
geographical segments 
the print and marketing services segments operate primarily in the uk deriving more than 90 of their revenues 
and profits from operations and customers located in the uk 
the largest customer of the group accounted for £332 million of revenue in the period 2010 − £375 million  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 75
reconciliation of segment assets and liabilities 
29 july
2011
£’000
30 july
2010
£’000
unallocated corporate assets comprise 
deferred tax assets – 1355
current tax receivable – 568
financial assets 2429 3495
cash and cash equivalents 16262 10515
unallocated assets as per balance sheet 18691 15933
unallocated corporate liabilities comprise 
deferred tax liabilities 3927 1267
current tax payable 3283 –
loans and bank overdrafts noncurrent – 13193
retirement benefits obligations 12295 32887
unallocated liabilities as per balance sheet 19505 47347
5 profitloss from operations 
profitloss from operations has been arrived at after chargingcrediting 
continuing  
operations 
discontinued  
operations total 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
 2011
£’000
2010
£’000
auditors’ remuneration  
audit fees 
– audit of the company accounts  69 62 – –  69 62
– audit of the accounts of the company’s subsidiaries 178 170 – 36  178 206
other assurance 28 28 – –  28 28
nonaudit fees 
corporate finance services 55 – – –  55 –
tax services – 7 – –  – 7
other services – 64 – –  – 64
330 367 – 367  330 367
staff costs note 6 92947 89355 16435 24317  109382 113672
depreciation of property plant and equipment note 15 9551 10934 3058 7369  12609 18303
impairment of property plant and equipment note 15 3392 1171 13526 –  16918 1171
impairment of software note 16 116 – – – 116 –
amortisation of intangible assets note 16 1841 634 53 122  1894 756
operating lease rentals 
– land and buildings 1093 1187 175 263  1268 1450
– plant and equipment 1371 2409 101 151  1472 2560
– other 460 666 22 33  482 699
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 4481 1885 19 489  4500 2374
regional grant amortisation note 24 – – 465 435  465 435 76 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
6 staff costs 
the average monthly number of employees including executive directors was 
continuing  
operations discontinued operations total 
2011
number
2010
number
2011
number
2010
number
2011 
number 
2010 
number 
production 2004 1839 598 649 2602 2488 
sales 437 424 21 23 458 447 
administration 374 345 101 112 475 457 
2815 2608 720 784 3535 3392 
their aggregate remuneration comprised 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
wages and salaries 80664 78208 14745 20952 95409 99160 
social security costs 9049 8147 968 2055 10017 10202 
other pension costs 2950 2940 722 1310 3672 4250 
92663 89295 16435 24317 109098 113612 
sharebased payment note 31 284 60 – – 284 60 
92947 89355 16435 24317 109382 113672 
the number of employees in discontinued operations for 2011 represents an average calculated over the period 
from 30 july 2010 to 6 april 2011 the date of disposal  
7 nonunderlying items 
nonunderlying items disclosed on the face of the consolidated income statement included in respect of continuing 
operations are as follows 
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
expenseincome 
restructuring items 
redundancies impairments and other charges 6788 5518 
provision releases 316 192
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 4299 1614
2173 3712 
other 
operating losses from noncontinuing operations 16 182 
amortisation of acquired intangibles  1149 105 
costs associated with the acquisition of subsidiaries 608 418 
remaining other nonunderlying expenses 63 205 
4009 4622 
income tax credit 2692 3633
1317 989  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 77
restructuring items 
current year 
included within redundancies impairment and other charges are impairments of £3508000 in respect of plant 
equipment and software located at the bradford blackburn and leeds sites the activities of the sites are recorded 
within the print segment also included are redundancy and other charges associated with restructuring activities 
principally in the direct response and commercial and service graphics operating businesses provision releases 
include the release of £316000 in respect of costs associated with the edenbridge site closure profit on disposal  
of fixed assets includes a gain from the disposal of the lavington street building as well as gains on the disposal  
of buildings at the edenbridge site offset by losses on disposal of plant and machinery following the relocation of 
certain operations of service graphics to a new site all restructuring items are recorded within the print segment  
prior year 
included within redundancies impairment and other charges are redundancies and other charges of £4043000 
relating to the closure of the edenbridge site the activities of the edenbridge site are recorded within the print 
segment also included here are redundancy and other charges associated with restructuring activities within the  
print segment including termination costs associated with senior management provision releases include the 
release of £420000 in respect of costs associated with the andover site closure and a release of £161000 
associated with costs of maintain the romford building both recorded within the print segment profit on disposal  
of fixed assets includes a gain of £1614000 from the disposal of the romford building as well as gains of £427000 
on disposal of plant and machinery all within the print segment  
other 
current year 
operating losses from noncontinuing operations classified as nonunderlying items relate to operating results 
arising after the decision to close a site in the period these arose in respect of the edenbridge site amortisation  
of acquired intangibles relates to customer relationships acquired with tactical solutions in the period as well as to 
customer relationships and inhouse developed software acquired with occam in the prior year costs associated 
with the acquisition of subsidiaries of £608000 relate to the tactical solutions acquisition principally professional  
advisers’ fees  
prior year 
in the prior year operating losses from noncontinuing operations arose in the andover site and the hayes site both  
of which are recorded within the print segment amortisation of acquired intangibles relates to customer relationships 
and inhouse developed software acquired with occam in the period costs associated with the acquisition of 
subsidiaries of £418000 relate to the occam acquisition principally professional advisers’ fees remaining other 
nonunderlying costs relate primarily to the settlement of a healthrelated legal claim from a former employee  
tax 
in the current year the tax credit relates to the items discussed above and to the revaluation of deferred tax 
liabilities following the substantial enactment of the reduction of the uk statutory corporate income tax rate from  
27 to 25 
in the prior year as well as the tax effects of the items noted above of £1653000 the tax credit of £4106000 
includes a credit of £2453000 comprising the release of a deferred tax liability in respect of rolled over capital 
gains the current tax effect of a carryback and offset of unrecognised trading losses in the netherlands and the 
revaluation of net deferred tax liabilities following the substantial enactment of the reduction of the uk statutory 
corporate income tax rate from 28 to 27 from april 2011  78 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
8 investment income 
continuing operations 
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
interest on bank deposits 3 – 
expected return on defined benefit pension scheme assets note 26 13898 13267
notional interest on loan notes receivable 72 –
13973 13267
9 finance costs 
continuing operations 
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
interest on bank overdrafts and loans 995 516 
notional interest on deferred consideration payable 46 – 
1041 516 
finance charge on retirement benefit obligations note 26 13347 13706 
14388 14222 
10 income tax chargecredit 
income tax on profitloss as shown in the income statement is as follows 
 continuing operations discontinued operations total 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
united kingdom corporation tax chargecredit 
at 2733 2010 – 28 
current year 4891 3585 456 1748 5347 1837 
adjustments in respect of prior years 838 489 148 389 690 878
4053 3096 604 2137 4657 959 
overseas 
adjustments in respect of prior years – 545 – – – 545
total current tax chargecredit 4053 2551 604 2137 4657 414 
deferred tax on origination and reversal of 
temporary differences 
united kingdom deferred tax creditcharge 1123 691 64 23 1059 668 
adjustments in respect of prior years 142 1268 139 552 281 716
total deferred tax creditcharge note 18 981 577 203 529 778 48
total income tax chargecredit 3072 1974 807 1608 3879 366 
the income tax chargecredit on the profitloss before and after nonunderlying items is as follows 
 continuing operations discontinued operations total 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011 
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
tax charge on profit before nonunderlying items 5764 5607 439 1135 6203 4472 
tax creditcharge on nonunderlying items 2692 3633 368 473 2324 4106
3072 1974 807 1608 3879 366  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 79
the charge can be reconciled to the profit before tax shown in the income statement as follows 
continuing operations discontinued operations  total 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
2011
£’000
2010 
£’000 
 2011
£’000
2010
£’000
profitloss before tax 16896 13173 17778 5069  822 8104
tax calculated at a rate of 2733 2010 – 28 4617 3688 4858 1419  241 2269
nondeductible charges on impairment of 
assets – 4641 – 4641 –
expenses not deductible for tax purposes 561 828 734 –  1295 828
nontaxable income 583 – – 280  583 280
effect of alternative use tax basis on sale  
of buildings 595 – – – 595 –
effect of change in uk corporate tax rate 232 240 4 72  228 312
adjustments in respect of prior years 696 2302 286 163  410 2139
total income tax chargecredit 3072 1974 807 1608 3879 366
11 acquisition 
on 9 february 2011 the group acquired 90 of the single class of ordinary shares in tactical solutions uk 
limited ‘tactical solutions’ a provider of field marketing services goodwill arising on the acquisition relates to  
the value of future growth from new customers and of the assembled workforce the fair values of the net assets 
acquired were as follows 
purchase price allocation 
historical 
net assets 
£’000 
fair value 
adjustments
£’000
fair value of 
net assets
£’000
customer relationships – 6840 6840
property plant and equipment 219 – 219
trade and other receivables 3069 280 3349
bank balances and cash 169 – 169
trade and other payables 2266 269 2535
deferred tax liabilities 1 1847 1846
net assets acquired 1192 5004 6196
goodwill arising on acquisition    13060
noncontrolling interest    619
total consideration   18637
the fair value of the total consideration payable is as follows 
£’000
paid in cash prior to 29 july 2011    12339
st ives plc ordinary shares issued on 3 march 2011    2000
consideration payable in loan notes after 29 july 2011   4298
total consideration    18637
the loan notes payable at 29 july 2011 are analysed as follows  
£’000
loan notes payable within one year 1677
loan notes payable in more than one year 2621
total consideration payable at 29 july 2011 4298 80 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
11 acquisition continued
the acquisition had the following impact on investing cash outflows in the period 
  £’000
cash paid in the period     12339 
cash acquired    169
net cash outflow in the period  12170 
the deferred consideration is payable in two tranches which are dependent upon the level of ebitda achieved by 
tactical solutions in calendar year 2011 and calendar year 2012 the amounts of which are capped at £4 million and 
£5 million respectively the group received an option to purchase the remaining 10 of the single class of ordinary 
shares from august 2013 at a price dependent on the level of ebitda achieved by tactical solutions in the financial 
year preceding the date of the exercise of the option a nominal value of £1 has been attributed to this option at the 
balance sheet date  
had tactical solutions been acquired at the beginning of the financial year it would have had the following 
incremental impact on the group’s operating results 
£’000 
revenue 5785 
operating profit 747 
12 discontinued operations 
on 6 april 2011 the group completed the disposal of the four operating subsidiaries that made up the group’s 
magazine printing business namely st ives peterborough limited st ives plymouth limited st ives roche limited 
and st ives web limited ‘the magazine printing business’ consideration receivable comprised £15000000  
in cash and £5000000 in loan notes secured on certain items of plant and machinery within the magazine printing 
business at the date of disposal the loan notes were scheduled to be repaid in 24 equal monthly instalments  
all but the initial payment were subsequently rescheduled with repayments due to recommence in december 2011 
the monthly repayments have been increased such that that the full value of the loan notes are still due to be repaid 
within 24 months of the date of disposal the loan notes do not bear interest and the nominal amounts receivable  
were discounted to their present value as at the date of disposal the magazine printing business is classified as  
a discontinued operation and prior period figures have been restated accordingly 
the loss after tax for the prior period from the discontinued operation is analysed below 
loss from discontinued operations  
31 july 
2010 to 
6 april 2011 
£’000 
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
loss from the magazine printing business before nonunderlying items 
revenue 51248 70489
operating costs 51754 73228
operating loss before nonunderlying items 506 2739
finance cost 367 644
loss before tax before nonunderlying items 873 3383
income tax chargecredit 439 1135
loss after tax before nonunderlying items 1312 2248 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 81
31 july 2010 
to 6 april 
2011
£’000
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
nonunderlying items 
impairment of property plant and equipment of the magazine printing business 13526 –
impairment of us promissory loan note 3454 –
defined benefits pension scheme curtailment credit 1345 –
other nonunderlying items 1270 1687
total nonunderlying items before tax 16905 1687
tax chargecredit on nonunderlying items 368 472
total nonunderlying items after tax 17273 1215
loss from discontinued operations 
31 july 2010 
to 6 april 
2011
£’000
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
loss after tax before nonunderlying items 1312 2248
nonunderlying items 17273 1215
total loss from discontinued operations 18585 3463
the impairment of property plant and equipment in the magazine printing business was recorded in light of  
the decision to dispose of this business and was established by reference to the fair value less costs to sell of  
the assets  
the us promissory loan note receivable as deferred consideration in respect of the sale of the group’s us segment 
in january 2009 was fully impaired in the period following a continued downturn in the us business resulting in a 
charge of £3454000 
the defined benefits pension scheme curtailment credit arose as a result of the change in membership status of 
employees of the magazine printing business from inservice members to deferred members following the disposal  
of this business in the period 
other nonunderlying items recorded in the period comprise redundancy and other restructuring charges arising  
in the group’s magazine printing business the sale of the four operating subsidiaries that make up the magazine 
printing business was free of tax  
the net assets of the magazine printing business at the date of disposal 6 april 2011 were as follows 
31 july 2010 
to 6 april 
2011
£’000
intangible assets 55
property plant and equipment 20653
inventories 4308
trade and other receivables 23678
bank overdraft 386
trade and other payables 26627
tax liabilities 1898
other liabilities 982
net assets 18801
profit on disposal before tax –
total consideration receivable net of selling costs 18801 82 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
12 discontinued operations continued
the fair value of the consideration receivable for the magazine printing business net of selling costs is comprised  
as follows 
£’000 
consideration net of selling costs received in cash on completion 14178 
loan note receivable and received in the period 208 
fair value of loan notes receivable after 29 july 2011 4415
fair value of consideration receivable net of selling costs 18801 
the loan notes receivable at 29 july 2011 are analysed as follows 
£’000 
loan notes receivable within one year 1986 
loan notes receivable in more than one year 2429 
total consideration receivable at 29 july 2011 4415 
the disposal of the magazine printing business had the following impact on investing cash inflows in the period 
£’000 
total consideration net of selling costs received in cash in the period 14386 
overdraft included in net assets disposed of in the period 386 
proceeds in the period from disposal net of cash disposed 14772
13 dividends 
 per share
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
final dividend paid for the 52 weeks ended 31 july 2009 05p – 515
interim dividend paid for the 26 weeks to 30 january 2010 175p – 1803
final dividend paid for the 52 weeks ended 30 july 2010 175p 1806 –
interim dividend paid for the 26 weeks to 29 january 2011 175p 1811 –
dividends paid during the period 3616 2318
proposed final dividend at the period end of 350p per share  
2010 – 175p per share 3749 1803
the proposed final dividend is subject to the approval by shareholders at the 2011 annual general meeting and has 
not been included as a liability in these financial statements  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 83
14 earnings per share 
the calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data 
number of shares 
2011
‘000
2010
‘000
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of basic earnings per share 104206 103056
weighted average number of ordinary shares for the purposes of diluted earnings per share 104879 103056
basic and diluted earnings per share 
2011 2010 
earnings
£’000
earnings 
per share 
pence 
earnings
£’000
earnings
per share
pence
earnings and basic earnings per share from continuing activities          
underlying earnings and underlying earnings per share 15060 1445  12190 1183
nonunderlying items 1278 123  989 096
earnings and basic earnings per share 13782 1323  11201 1087
earnings and diluted earnings per share from continuing activities   
underlying earnings and underlying earnings per share 15060 1436  12190 1183
nonunderlying items 1278 122  989 096
earnings and diluted earnings per share 13782 1314  11201 1087
2011 2010 
earnings
£’000
earnings 
per share 
pence 
earnings
£’000
earnings
per share
pence
loss and basic loss per share from discontinued activities 18585 1783  3463 336
loss and diluted loss per share from discontinued activities 18585 1772  3463 336
2011 2010 
earnings
£’000
earnings 
per share 
pence 
earnings
£’000
earnings
per share
pence
basic lossearnings per share from continuing and  
discontinued activities 4803 461 7738 751
diluted loss earnings per share from continuing and  
discontinued activities 4803 458 7738 751
underlying earnings is calculated by adding back nonunderlying items as adjusted for tax to the profitloss for 
the period see note 7  84 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
15 property plant and equipment 
land and buildings 
freehold
£’000
long leases
£’000
plant and 
equipment
£’000
fixtures 
fittings 
equipment 
and motor 
vehicles 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
cost or valuation 
at 1 august 2009 51610 5482 247006 16525 320623
acquisitions ––3049 313
additions 674356048722 7479
disposals  – 168 31905 3638 35711
reclassification – noncurrent assets 63 – 45 42 60
reclassification – assets held for sale 2297 – 111 840 3248
at 30 july 2010 50050 5349 221297 12820 289516
acquisitions ––18534 219
additions 1027713905737 7403
disposals 29583154118480 7871
disposals – discontinued operations – – 100261 1481 101742
reclassification – noncurrent assets 27 28 900 1478 577
at 29 july 2011 47055 7833 121908 10152 186948
accumulated depreciation and impairment 
at 1 august 2009 12968 2244 171739 11494 198445
charge for the period 853 437 15469 1544 18303
impairment losses – – 1162 9 1171
disposals  – 168 31885 2730 34783
reclassification – noncurrent assets – – 50 – 50
reclassification – assets held for sale 669 – 68 371 1108
at 30 july 2010 13152 2513 156467 9946 182078
charge for the period 741 555 10465 848 12609
impairment losses – – 16791 127 16918
disposals 7712633896437 5367
disposals – discontinued operations – – 79660 1429 81089
reclassification – noncurrent assets 28 28 647 1224 577
at 29 july 2011 13094 2833 100814 7831 124572
net book value 
at 29 july 2011 33961 5000 21094 2321 62376
at 30 july 2010 36898 2836 64830 2874 107438
at 29 january 2011 following the decision to dispose of the magazine printing business impairment charges  
of £14232000 were recorded against plant and equipment in the peterborough plymouth and roche sites  
the recoverable amount of the plant and equipment was calculated by reference to the estimated portion of  
the anticipated consideration receivable attributable to these assets following the completion of the disposal 
transaction on 6 april 2011 and the deconsolidation of the magazine printing business as of that date the final 
allocation of the consideration receivable indicated that the portion attributable to this plant and equipment  
and hence its recoverable amount was higher than the original estimate and so £738000 of the impairment  
loss booked at 29 january 2011 was reversed reducing the impairment recorded in the period to £13526000  
the disposal calculation shown in note 12 above includes plant and machinery at its carrying value net of these 
impairment charges   st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 85
impairment losses of £3392000 arose on plant and machinery at the blackburn bradford and leeds sites  
following the continued decline in the markets served by these sites the impairments have been recorded within  
the print segment impairment losses have been measured by reference to valueinuse and have been recorded  
as nonunderlying items  
the group has freehold land included within property plant and equipment and in the prior period assets  
held for sale with a book value of £5325000 2010 – £6175000 which has not been depreciated the amount  
of fully depreciated property plant and equipment and in the prior period assets held for sale is £54722000  
2010 – £107207000 
included in the group’s cost of plant and machinery are items in the course of construction amounting to £nil  
2010 – £517000 
the carrying amount of the group’s property plant and equipment in respect of assets held under finance lease  
are £nil 2010 – £nil 
16 goodwill and other intangible assets 
£’000
cost and carrying amount of goodwill
at august 2009 46274
acquisitions 8109
at 30 july 2010 54383
acquisitions 13060
at 29 july 2011 67443
goodwill is allocated amongst the following cashgenerating units 
£’000
sp group 31322
service graphics 14952
occam 8109
tactical solutions 13060
67443
sp group and service graphics are reported within the print segment occam and tactical solutions are reported 
within the marketing services segment 
the group tests goodwill annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might  
be impaired 
tactical solutions’ recoverable amount was tested by reference to market value at 29 july 2011 the recoverable 
amounts of the other cash generating units ‘cgus’ are determined using valueinuse calculations the key 
assumptions for the valueinuse calculations are those regarding discount rates growth rates and expected 
changes to selling prices and direct costs and therefore profits and losses during the forecast period management 
estimates discount rates using pretax rates that reflect current market assessments of the time value of money  
and the risks specific to the cgus changes in selling prices and direct costs are based on past practices and 
expectations of future changes in the market the group prepares cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent 
mediumterm business forecasts with a terminal value calculation the key assumptions used in the valueinuse 
calculations as well as the sensitivities to the key revenue growth assumption are detailed below  86 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
16 goodwill and other intangible assets continued
sp group
service 
graphics occam 
valueinuse assumptions 
pretax discount rate 131 131 131
terminal growth used in terminal value calculation 30 30 30
average annual revenue growth used in five year forecast calculation 33 57 113
excess of valueinuse over carrying value £’000 30505 13294 3064 
sensitivity of valueinuse to changes in key growth assumption 
average annual revenue growth in five year forecast calculation resulting  
in potential impairment 19 35 86
other intangible assets 
computer 
software
£’000
customer 
relationships 
£’000 
total 
£’000
cost 
at august 2009 4465 – 4465
acquisitions 1628 1801 3429
additions 804 – 804
reclassifications  60 – 60
disposals 176 – 176
at 30 july 2010 6661 1801 8462
acquisitions – 6840 6840
additions 2070 – 2070
reclassifications  125 – 125
disposals 9 – 9
disposals – discontinued operations 759– 759
at 29 july 2011 8088 8641 16729
accumulated amortisation 
at 1 august 2009 3250 – 3250
charge for the period 705 51 756
reclassifications  50 – 50
disposals 177 – 177
at 30 july 2010 3728 51 3779
charge for the period 1071 823 1894
impairment losses 116 – 116
reclassifications  125 – 125
disposals 3 – 3
disposals – discontinued operations 704– 704
at 29 july 2011 4333 874 5207
net book value 
at 29 july 2011 3755 7767 11522
at 30 july 2010 2933 1750 4683
impairment losses of £116000 arose on software at the blackburn bradford and leeds sites following the  
continued decline in the markets served by these sites the impairments have been recorded within the print 
segment impairment losses have been measured by reference to valueinuse and have been recorded as  
nonunderlying items   st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 87
17 financial assets 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
loans receivable carried at amortised cost 2429 3495
at 29 july 2011 loans receivable comprise loan notes in respect of the sale of the magazine printing business 
receivable in more than one year 
at 30 july 2010 loans receivable carried at amortised cost comprised a us dollardenominated promissory loan  
note plus rolled up interest receivable of us55 million the receivable was fully impaired in the period following  
the continued decline in the market for the products of this business 
18 deferred tax 
deferred income taxes are calculated in full on temporary differences under the liability method using a principal tax 
rate of 25 2010 – 27 
the gross movement on the deferred income tax account is as follows 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
at the beginning of the period 88 1942
acquisitions 1846 535
disposals 1751 –
income statement credit note 10 777 48
items taken directly to comprehensive income  4697 1367
at the end of the period 3927 88
the movement in the deferred tax assets and liabilities recognised during the period and prior reporting period  
was as follows 
accelerated 
tax 
depreciation
£’000
retirement 
benefits 
obligations
£’000
rolled over 
capital gains
£’000
revenue tax 
losses
£’000
shortterm 
timing 
differences 
£’000 
derivative 
financial 
instruments 
£’000 
acquired 
intangible 
assets
£’000
total
£’000
balance at august 2009 9266 10720 1542 660 1422 52 – 1942
acquisitions 86––3363 – 960 535
creditcharge to  
income statement 98 437 1173 672 177 – 63 48
items taken directly to 
comprehensive income  – 1403 – – – 36 – 1367
balance at 30 july 2010 9082 8880 369 324 1248 16 897 88
acquisitions 1–––– – 1847 1846
disposals 1751 – – – – – – 1751
creditcharge to  
income statement 24611095 340 324 191 – 266 777
items taken directly to 
comprehensive income  – 4712 – – – 15 – 4697
balance at 29 july 2011 4869 3073 709 – 1057 1 2478 3927 88 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
18 deferred tax continued
deferred tax assets and liabilities are classified in the balance sheet as follows 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
deferred tax assets – 1355
deferred tax liabilities 3927 1267
3927 88
deferred tax assets and liabilities are offset when there is a legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets 
against current tax liabilities and when the deferred income taxes relate to the same fiscal authority  
at 29 july 2011 deferred tax assets in respect of losses at current tax rates all of which have an unlimited life  
are as follows 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
recognised deferred tax in respect of losses – 324
unrecognised deferred tax in respect of losses 520 –
520 324
19 inventories 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
raw materials 3069 5257
workinprogress 4080 4581
finished products 33 640
7182 10478
less payments on account and provisions  – 366
7182 10112
there was no material writedown of inventories in either period 
20 other financial assets 
trade and other receivables 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
current 
amounts receivable for the sale of goods and services 56074 61945
allowance for doubtful debts 2034 2851
trade receivables  54040 59094
other receivables 4271 3394
prepayments and other assets 6799 5660
65110 68148
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
noncurrent 
other noncurrent assets – 202
the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates their fair value  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 89
derivative financial instruments 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
forward foreign currency contracts  4 59
all forward foreign currency contracts are designated and effective as hedging instruments 
cash and cash equivalents 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
cash and cash equivalents 16262 10515
cash and cash equivalents comprise cash held by the group and shortterm bank deposits with an original maturity  
of three months or less the carrying amounts of these assets approximate their fair value 
21 assets held for sale 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
freehold land and buildings – 2140
the property at lavington street london classified as an asset held for sale at 30 july 2010 was sold in the period 
for £6163000 after selling costs resulting in a gain of £4023000  
22 trade and other payables 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
trade payables 45662 51768
accruals for goods and services 8616 9897
other taxes and social security 12126 12009
other payables 2851 6246
69255 79920
the directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other payables approximates their fair value 
23 loans and bank overdrafts 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
bank loans – 13193
the borrowings are repayable as follows 
between one and two years – 13193
in october 2009 the group entered into at threeyear £70 million revolving multicurrency loan agreement which was 
reduced to £55 million in the period following the sale of the magazine printing business up to £15 million may be 
drawn on as an overdraft facility interest on loan drawdowns is charged at libor plus a margin which varies 
between 225 and 275 depending on the ratio of the group’s net debt to ebitda excluding nonunderlying 
items interest on overdraft drawdowns is charged at 200 over uk base rate as at 29 july 2011 the group’s 
outstanding loans within this agreement were £nil 2010 – £10 million and us5 million the undrawn portion  
of this facility at 29 july 2011 was £55 million 2010 – £568 million  
as at 29 july 2011 there was no loan or overdraft secured against the assets of the group 2010 – £nil  
the directors consider that the carrying amount of the loans approximates their fair value  90 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
24 deferred income 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
uk regional capital grants  – 708
advance billings and other deferred income  376 819
376 1527
current deferred income  376 934
noncurrent deferred income  – 593
376 1527
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
movement in uk regional capital grants 
balance at the beginning of the period 708 1143
transfer to income statement 465 435
disposal of the magazine printing business 243 –
balance at the end of the period – 708
25 provisions 
provision for 
repairs
£’000
provision for 
reorganisation 
£’000 
total
£’000
balance at 1 august 2009 1418 4585 6003
charged to the income statement 296 3313 3609
credited to the income statement 142 937 1079
utilised during the period 3303785 4115
balance at 30 july 2010 1242 3176 4418
charged to the income statement 145 2192 2337
credited to the income statement 165 40 205
disposal – discontinued operations 7 122 115
utilised during the period 71 4050 4121
balance at 29 july 2011 1158 1156 2314
current  470 1156 1626
noncurrent 687 – 687
1157 1156 2313
provision for repairs 
where the group is committed under the terms of a lease to make repairs to leasehold premises provision for 
repairs is made for these estimated costs over a period of the lease it is anticipated that these liabilities will 
crystallise between 2012 and 2021 
provision for reorganisation 
the provision for reorganisation relates primarily to the remaining costs in respect of plant closures and relocation 
and comprises severance payments plant relocation onerous property and other costs which are expected to be 
settled by the end of the 2012 financial year the charge in the period relates principally to the closure of the hayes 
and salisbury sites within the exhibitions and events business as well as to restructuring activities in the direct 
response and commercial books and point of sale businesses all of which are included within the print segment   st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 91
26 retirement benefits 
defined contribution schemes 
the group operates defined contribution schemes for all qualifying employees the assets of the schemes are held 
separately from those of the group in funds under control of the trustees payments to the schemes are expensed  
to the income statement as they fall due the total expense recognised in the income statement for continuing 
operations of £1634000 2010 – £2481000 represents contributions payable to these schemes by the group at 
rates specified in the rules of the schemes at 29 july 2011 contributions of £215000 2010 – £183000 due in 
respect of the 2011 reporting period had not been paid over to the schemes the amounts were paid over 
subsequent to the balance sheet date within the requisite time limits 
defined benefits scheme – st ives group 
the group operates the st ives defined benefits pension scheme with assets held in separate trustee administered 
funds this scheme was closed to new entrants from 6 april 2002 and closed to future benefit accruals with effect 
from 31 august 2008  
the most recent full actuarial valuations of the scheme assets and the present value of the defined benefits 
obligations were carried out in april 2011 by jonathan punter fellow of the institute of actuaries punter southall  
 co ltd ‘the actuary’ who is independent of the group this valuation was updated at 31 july 2011 the present 
value of the defined benefits obligation and the related current service cost and past service cost were measured 
using the projected unit credit method 
the principal assumptions used for the purpose of the actuarial valuations were as follows 
2011
 per
annum
2010
 per
annum
discount rate 550 540
expected rate of inflation 350 330
expected rate of salary increases 000 000
future pension increases 325 315
postretirement mortality in the 2011 calculation is in accordance with the s1pa tables with an allowance of 1 
lighter mortality for females future improvements from 2004 have been assumed in line with the 2009 cmi model 
and a long term improvement of 1 per annum no adjustment has been made to the base table for males 
postretirement mortality in the 2010 calculation was in accordance with the pa00 tables with future mortality 
improvements from 2002 in line with the ‘92 series’ year of birth projections allowing for the medium cohort effect and 
a minimum level of improvements of 1 per annum the base table was adjusted to assume 6 greater mortality for 
males and 4 greater mortality for females  
the amount recognised in the balance sheet in respect of the group’s defined benefits scheme is as follows 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
present value of funded obligations 258269 251105
fair value of scheme assets 245974 218218
12295 32887 92 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
26 retirement benefits continued
amounts recognised in profit and loss in respect of the defined benefits scheme are as follows 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
current service cost 200 200
curtailments 1345 –
interest on obligation note 9 13347 13706
expected return on scheme assets note 8 13898 13267
1696 639
the current service cost was allocated to functional cost lines in the income statement the curtailment credit arises 
due to the disposal of the magazine printing business and is included as a nonunderlying item under discontinued 
operations expected return on assets is recorded under investment income and interest on obligation is recorded 
under finance costs the actual return on scheme assets was a profit of £32673000 2010 – £29698000 
changes in the present value of defined benefits obligations are as follows 
52 weeks to  
29 july 
2011 
 £’000 
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
opening defined benefits obligation 251105 232482
service cost 200 200
interest cost 13347 13706
curtailments 1345 –
agerelated rebates 214 343
actuarial losses 2079 12596
benefits paid 7331 8222
closing defined benefits obligation 258269 251105
changes in the fair value of scheme assets are as follows 
52 weeks to  
29 july 
2011 
 £’000 
52 weeks to 
30 july
2010
 £’000
opening fair value of scheme assets 218218 194199
expected returns 13898 13267
actuarial gains 18775 16431
contributions by employer 2200 2200
agerelated rebates 214 343
benefits paid 7331 8222
closing fair value of scheme assets 245974 218218
the fair value of the scheme assets at the balance sheet date is analysed as follows 
longterm 
rate of return 
expected at 
29 july 2011
per annum
value at 
£’000
longterm 
rate of return 
expected at 
30 july 2010 
per annum 
value at  
£’000
equity instruments 750 148950 780 128680
bonds 430 94902 460 87795
other  050 2122 050 1743
245974 218218
29 july 2011 30 july 2010 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 93
the scheme assets do not include any of the group’s own financial instruments nor any property occupied by or 
other assets used by the group the expected rates of return on the individual categories of the scheme assets are 
determined following actuarial advice the overall expected rate of return is calculated by weighting the individual 
rates in accordance with the anticipated balance in the scheme’s investment portfolio 
the history of the scheme for the current and prior period is as follows 
2011
£’000
2010 
£’000 
2009 
£’000 
2008
£’000
2007
£’000
present value of defined benefits obligations 258269 251105 232482 226605 220872
fair value of scheme assets 245974 218218 194199 178261 175669
deficit 12295 32887 38283 48344 45203
experience adjustments on scheme liabilities 2700 8844 1462 1462 1700
percentage of scheme deficit 11 35 06 06 08
experience adjustments on scheme assets 18775 16431 4049 13915 911
percentage of scheme assets 76 75 21 78 05
the group expects to contribute £2200000 to the scheme in 2012 
27 financial risk management 
the group’s treasury function is responsible for managing the group’s exposure to financial risk and operates within 
a defined set of policies and procedures reviewed and approved by the board 
interest rate risk 
the group carries a cash flow risk where there are changes in the interest rate levied on the group’s interest rate 
borrowings as currently interest on the group’s borrowings is at floating rates the group finances its operations 
through a mixture of retained earnings and bank borrowings group policy is to constantly review the exposure  
risk to interest rate fluctuations in relation to the risk as a proportion of group earnings and wherever possible with 
matching shortterm deposits of surplus funds the group is not subject to fair value interest rate risk as all debt  
is at floating rate 
interest rate management 
an analysis of financial assets and liabilities exposed to interest rate risk is set out below 
financial assets subject to interest rate risk 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
sterling 15544 10209
us dollar – 1
other 718 305
 16262  10515 
the group’s financial assets comprise cash and cash equivalents all of which attract interest at floating rates based 
upon libor or equivalent measures 
financial liabilities subject to interest rate risk 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
sterling bank loans – 10000
us dollar bank loans – 3193
– 13193
the group’s financial liabilities comprise loan borrowings which bear interest at floating rates based upon libor 
and overdraft borrowings which bear interest at floating rates based upon uk base rate  94 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
27 financial risk management continued
interest rate sensitivity analysis  
the analysis below has been performed assuming that the amount of the liability outstanding at the balance sheet 
date was outstanding for the whole year 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
100 movement in sterling libor – 65
the changes would not have impacted other equity reserves as all interest bearing financial assets and liabilities are 
subject to floating interest rates and their fair values do not fluctuate with changes in interest rates 
foreign exchange risk 
following the full impairment of the us loan note receivable the group’s balance sheet is not significantly exposed 
to movements in the us dollarsterling exchange rate 
forward foreign exchange contracts 
the group enters into forward foreign exchange contracts to cover specific foreign currency payments and receipts 
and to manage the risk associated with anticipated sale and purchase transactions basis adjustments are made to 
the carrying amount of nonfinancial hedged items when the anticipated sale or purchase transaction takes place 
the following table details the forward currency contracts outstanding at the year end 
average 
exchange rate
sterling foreign 
currency
foreign 
currency 
‘000
contract 
value  
£’000 
fair value 
£’000
sell us dollars up to 12 months 156 232 149 8
sell euros up to 12 months 114 2242 1959 4
the group has entered into contracts to supply goods to customers trading in continental europe at prices 
denominated in euros and to customers trading in the usa at prices denominated in us dollars forward foreign 
exchange contracts have been used to hedge the exchange rate risk arising from these commitments which are 
designated as cash flow hedges as at 29 july 2011 the aggregate amount of unrealised profits under forward 
foreign exchange contracts deferred in the hedging reserve relating to the exposure on trade receivables and 
anticipated sale transactions amounted to £4000 it is anticipated that the sales will be made in the 12 months 
following the balance sheet date  
credit risk 
the group’s principal financial assets are bank balances and cash trade and other receivables which represent the 
group’s maximum exposure to credit risk in relation to financial assets the group’s credit risk is primarily 
attributable to its trade receivables the amounts presented in the balance sheet are net of allowances for doubtful 
receivables estimated by the group’s management based on prior experience and their assessment of the current 
economic environment the group’s credit risk is relatively low as the group maintains credit insurance up to a 
maximum aggregate claim in any one year of £3 million in addition its uk subsidiaries’ sales are principally with a 
large number of counterparties and customers in the uk and are denominated in sterling 
before accepting any new customer the group uses an external credit scoring system to assess the potential 
customer’s credit quality and defines credit limits by customer limits and scoring attributed to customers are 
reviewed regularly trade receivables include an amount with a single large customer which represents more than 
10 of the total balance this customer has the highest credit score attributable under the credit scoring method 
used by the group 
included in the group’s trade receivables are debtors with a carrying value for which the group has not provided as 
there has not been a significant change in credit quality and the amounts are still considered recoverable the 
group does not hold any collateral over these balances included in the group’s trade receivables balance are 
debtors with a carrying amount of £194 million 2010 – £154 million which are past due at the reporting date for 
which the group has not provided as there has not been a significant change in credit quality and the amounts are 
still considered recoverable  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 95
ageing of impaired receivables 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
between 0 and 59 days 18 883
between 60 and 89 days 1196 1162
between 90 and 119 days 232 761
120 days and above 588 45
2034 2851
movement in the allowance for doubtful debts 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
balance at the beginning of the period  2851 3308
impairment losses recognised  505 1133
amounts written off as uncollectible 402 1286
amounts recovered during the year  – 304
impairment losses reversed 793 –
disposals  127 –
balance at the end of the period  2034 2851
in determining the recoverability of a trade receivable the group considers any change in the quality of the trade 
receivable from the date the credit was initially granted up to the reporting date the concentration of credit risk is 
limited due to the customer base being large and unrelated and being covered by credit insurance arrangements 
accordingly the directors believe that there is no further credit provision required in excess of the allowance for 
doubtful debts 
ageing of past due but not impaired receivables 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
between 0 and 59 days 19168 15101
between 60 and 89 days 229 265
19397 15366
liquidity risk 
the group’s policy is to maintain flexibility with respect to its liquidity position by utilising shortterm cash deposits 
and where necessary shortterm bank borrowings for working capital and longerterm borrowings for capital 
expenditure requirements the £700 million three year revolving multicurrency agreement entered into in the prior 
period was reduced to £550 million following the sale of the magazine printing business the agreement includes an 
overdraft facility of £150 million to fund shortterm working capital requirements the contractual maturities of drawn 
down borrowings as well as undrawn facilities are detailed in note 23 
capital risk management 
the group manages its capital to ensure that entities in the group will be able to continue as going concerns while 
maximising the return to stakeholders through the optimisation of the debt and equity balance the capital structure 
of the group consists of debt which includes the borrowings disclosed in note 23 cash and cash equivalents and 
equity attributable to equity holders of the parent comprising issued capital reserves and retained earnings as 
disclosed in the statement of changes in equity  96 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
28 share capital 
number of shares 
ordinary 
shares of 
10p each 
£’000
issued and fully paid 
at 31 july 2010 103583137 10358
issued in the period 2265370 227
at 29 july 2011 105848507 10585
all authorised and issued share capital is represented by equity shareholdings 
29 notes to the consolidated cash flow statement 
reconciliation of cash generated from operations 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
profit from continuing operations 17311 14130
loss from discontinued operations 17411 4427
100 9703
adjustments for 
depreciation of property plant and equipment 12609 18303
impairment losses 20488 1171
amortisation of intangible assets 1894 756
profit on disposal of property plant and equipment 4652 2374
deferred income credit 393 307
sharebased payment charge 284 60
decrease in retirement benefit obligations 3345 2000
decrease in provisions 1880 1585
operating cash inflows before movements in working capital 24905 23727
increasedecrease in inventories 1379 757
increasedecrease in receivables 8375 5829
increase in payables 7131 6909
cash generated from operations 22282 37222
analysis of net debt 
30 july
2010
£’000
cash flow
£’000
exchange 
movements 
£’000 
29 july
2011
£’000
cash and cash equivalents 10515 5751 4 16262
bank loans 13193 13494 301 –
2678 19245 305 16262
cash and cash equivalents which are presented as a single class of assets on the face of the balance sheet 
comprise cash at bank and other shortterm highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less  
the effective interest rates on cash and cash equivalents are based on current market rates  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 97
cash flows from discontinued operations 
included within the cash flow statement are the following cash flows from discontinued operations 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
net cash used ingenerated from operating activities 733 4550
net cash used ingenerated from investing activities 123 4580
net cash generated fromused in financing activities 182 733
net decrease in cash from discontinued activities 674 763
30 capital and other commitments 
2011
£’000
2010
£’000
capital expenditure contracted but not provided 141 1820
at 29 july 2011 the group had outstanding commitments for the future minimum lease payments under non
cancellable operating leases as follows 
2011  
land and 
buildings  
£’000 
2011 
other 
£’000 
2010
land and 
buildings
£’000
2010
other
£’000
within one year 1466 1405 1503 1666
between two and five years 4690 1605 3580 2490
after five years 4250 96 4025 10
10406 3106 9108 4166
31 sharebased payments 
the company operates a number of sharebased payment schemes for certain employees of the group ifrs 2 – 
sharebased payment has been applied to all sharebased rewards made after 7 november 2002 that did not vest 
before 31 july 2004 as detailed below 
discretionary executive share option scheme ‘2001 scheme’ 
executive directors and certain members of senior management have been granted share options under the 
company’s discretionary share option schemes details of the 2001 scheme are included on pages 52 and 53  
of the directors’ remuneration report  
longterm incentive plan ‘ltip’ 
executive directors and certain members of senior management have been granted nilcost share options under  
the company’s longterm incentive plan details of the ltip are included on pages 53 and 54 of the directors’ 
remuneration report 
a reconciliation of the movement in the number of share options is shown below 
2001 scheme  ltip 
2011 2010 2011 2010
number of options  
outstanding at the beginning of the period 2494800 1004400  – –
granted during the period – 2232000  1197000 –
lapsed during the period 262800 741600  – –
outstanding at the end of the period 2232000 2494800  1197000 –
exercisable at the end of the period – –  – – 98 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the consolidated financial statements continued
31 sharebased payments continued
2001 scheme ltip 
2011 2010 2011 2010 
weighted average exercise price £ 
outstanding at the beginning of the period 084 263 – – 
granted during the period – 066 – – 
lapsed during the period 237 273 – – 
outstanding at the end of the period 066 084 – – 
the fair value of the options granted in the period under the ltip was measured using a blackscholes options 
pricing model the inputs to the model are 
weighted average midmarket share price 9775p 
weighted average exercise price £000
expected life 3 years 
expected volatility 3000
risk free rate 200
dividend yield 500
the group recognised a total charge of £284000 2010 – £60000 relating to equitysettled sharebased payment 
transactions the exercise price of options outstanding at 29 july 2011 ranges between nil and 6617 pence  
deferred bonus scheme 
on 1 november 2010 pursuant to the directors and senior executives deferred bonus scheme outlined on page 48 
of the directors’ remuneration report a portion of the net bonus payable to patrick martell matt armitage and lloyd 
wigglesworth in respect of the 2010 financial year was used to purchase 201163 shares in the company from the 
group’s employee benefit trust ‘the ebt’ on behalf of these directors at 81 pence per share an esop reserve was 
set up when the ebt originally purchased these shares at a price of 383 pence per share when the shares were 
purchased on behalf of the directors in the period an amount equivalent to their original cost of £769000 was 
released from the esop reserve with the difference of £607000 between the price paid on behalf of the directors 
and the original cost to the ebt of the shares taken directly to retained earnings 
32 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 no material related party transactions have been entered into  
during the year which might reasonably affect the decisions made by the users of these financial statements 
on 1 november 2010 shares in the company were purchased from the group’s employee benefit trust on behalf  
of matt armitage patrick martell and lloyd wigglesworth as outlined in note 31  
no other executive officers of the company or their associates had material transactions with the group during  
the year 
remuneration of key management personnel 
the remuneration of the directors and other executives who are key management personnel of the group  
is set out below in aggregate for each of the categories specified in international accounting standard 24 −  
related party disclosures 
2011 
£’000 
2010
£’000
shortterm employee benefits 2103 2254
postemployment benefits 19 120
termination benefits 33 613
sharebased payment 229 60
2384 3047 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 99
33 list of principal undertakings 
the principal trading subsidiaries of the company as at 29 july 2011 are shown below all are whollyowned 
subsidiaries with the exception of tactical solutions uk limited which is 90 owned with the exception of any 
marked † which are owned directly all are owned via whollyowned intermediate holding companies 
the following companies are incorporated and registered in england and wales 
location
clays limited bungay
occam dm limited † chilcompton
st ives blackburn limited blackburn
st ives burnley limited burnley
st ives direct bradford limited bradford
st ives direct leeds limited leeds
st ives management services limited london
st ives westerham press limited edenbridge
service graphics limited † london and other uk sites
sp group limited † birminghamredditch
tactical solutions uk limited † chester
all the above subsidiaries other than occam dm limited and tactical solutions uk limited are engaged in the 
activities of printing and related services occam is engaged in the activity of database marketing services and 
tactical solutions is engaged in the activity of field marketing services 
34 postbalance sheet events 
on 14 september 2011 the group acquired 100 of the single class of ordinary shares in response one holdings 
limited a data marketing business for a consideration of approximately £1625 million the exact consideration will 
be determined based on a multiple of the ebitda for the year ended 31 october 2011 adjusted for working capital 
approximately 70 of the consideration payable will be in cash with the balance to be satisfied by the issue of up to 
approximately 75 million new st ives plc ordinary shares an initial payment of £125 million in cash was made on 
completion the total consideration is capped at £190 million 
on 20 september 2011 the group acquired 100 of the single class of ordinary shares in pragma holdings 
limited a consultancy specialising in retail and consumer markets the consideration payable will be determined as 
a multiple of the ebitda achieved for the year ended 31 march 2012 adjusted for working capital and is estimated 
to be approximately £42 million an initial payment of £33 million in cash was made on completion with the balance 
of the consideration payable in cash and shares the total consideration is capped at £60 million  100 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 
independent auditors’ report to the members of st ives plc 
 
we have audited the parent company financial 
statements of st ives plc for the 52 weeks ended  
29 july 2011 which comprise the parent company 
balance sheet and the related notes 1 to 15 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 auditors’ report and for no other purpose to the 
fullest extent permitted by law we do not accept or 
assume responsibility to anyone other than the company 
and the company’s members as a body for our audit 
work for this report or for the opinions we have formed 
respective responsibilities of directors  
and auditors 
as explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities 
statement 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 apb’s ethical standards  
for auditors 
scope of the audit of the financial statements 
an audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts 
and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to 
give reasonable assurance that the financial statements 
are free from material misstatement whether caused  
by fraud or error this includes an assessment of 
whether the accounting policies are appropriate to  
the 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 parent 
company’s affairs as at 29 july 2011 
• 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 matters prescribed by the 
companies act 2006 
in our opinion 
• the part of the directors’ remuneration report to be 
audited has been properly prepared in accordance 
with the companies act 2006 and 
• 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 and the part 
of the directors’ remuneration report to be audited 
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 st ives plc for the 52 weeks ended  
29 july 2011 
 
peter o’donoghue senior statutory auditor 
for and on behalf of deloitte llp 
chartered accountants and statutory auditors  
london united kingdom 
4 october 2011 
 
note 
an audit does not provide assurance on the maintenance and integrity of the website including controls used to achieve this and in particular on whether any changes may 
have occurred to the financial statements since first published these matters are the responsibility of the directors but no control procedures can provide absolute assurance in 
this area legislation in the united kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements differs from legislation in other jurisdictions
  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 101
company balance sheet
 note 
29 july 2011
£’000
30 july 2010
£’000
fixed assets 
tangible assets 5 39173 42960
investments 6 105404 95618
144577 138578
current assets 
debtors – amounts falling due within one year 7 9371 4733
debtors – amounts falling due after more than one year 7 2429 3497
11800 8230
creditors amounts falling due within one year 8 33439 19428
net current liabilities 21639 11198
total assets less current liabilities 122938 127380
creditors amounts falling due after more than one year 8 2621 13193
provision for liabilities 10 276 166
net assets 120041 114021
capital and reserves 
share capital 11 10585 10358
share premium account 11 48540 46706
other reserves 12 442 556
profit and loss account 13 60474 57513
total equity 120041 114021
these financial statements were approved by the board of directors on 4 october 2011 and signed on its behalf by 
patrick martell  matt armitage 
chief executive  finance director  102 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the company financial statements
1 accounting policies 
the financial statements of the company have been prepared in accordance with applicable united kingdom 
accounting standards 
going concern 
the directors have at the time of approving the financial statements a reasonable expectation that the company 
and the group have 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 financial statements further detail is 
contained in the business review on page 11 
a accounting convention 
the financial statements of the company are prepared under the historical cost convention except for revaluation  
of certain land and buildings and financial instruments 
b accounting period 
the financial statements are prepared for the fifty two weeks ended 29 july 2011 ‘the financial year’ comparative 
figures are for the fifty two weeks ended 30 july 2010 
c tangible fixed assets 
depreciation is not provided on freehold land or assets in the course of construction on other assets it is provided 
on cost or revalued amounts in equal annual instalments over the estimated lives of the assets the annual rates of 
depreciation are as follows 
freehold buildings  2 – 4 
long leases period of lease 
plant and machinery  10 – 33
1
⁄
3
 
fixtures fittings and equipment  10 – 33
1
⁄
3
 
motor vehicles  20 – 25 
as permitted by financial reporting standard 15 − tangible fixed assets ‘frs 15’ those freehold buildings valued 
at 31 july 1985 continue to be carried at that value subject to depreciation 
d investments 
investments are stated at historical cost less any provision for impairment 
e tax 
current tax including uk corporation tax and foreign tax is provided at amounts expected to be paid or recovered 
using the tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date 
deferred tax is provided in full on timing differences which result in an obligation at the balance sheet date to pay 
more tax or a right to pay less tax at a future date at rates expected to apply when they crystallise based on 
current tax rates and law timing differences arise from the inclusion of items of income and expenditure in tax 
computations in periods different from those in which they are included in financial statements 
deferred tax is not provided on timing differences from the revaluation of fixed assets where there is no commitment 
to sell the asset or on unremitted earnings where there is no commitment to remit these earnings deferred tax 
assets are recognised to the extent that it is regarded as more likely than not that they will be recovered deferred 
tax assets and liabilities are not discounted 
f provision for repairs 
as the company is committed under the terms of a lease to make repairs to leasehold premises provision is made 
for the estimated cost of repairs over the lease period  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 103
g foreign currencies 
where foreign currency borrowings have been used to finance or provide a hedge against equity investments in 
overseas subsidiaries exchange gains or losses on the borrowings have been offset in reserves to the extent that 
they do not exceed the associated exchange differences arising on the retranslation of net investments 
the transactions of the company denominated in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate ruling at 
the date of the transaction amounts receivable and payable denominated in foreign currencies at the balance sheet 
date are translated at the rates ruling at that date these exchange differences are included in profit on ordinary 
activities before tax 
h sharebased payments 
the group makes equitysettled sharebased payments to certain employees which are measured at fair value  
at the date of grant the fair value determined at the grant date of the equitysettled sharebased payments is 
expensed on a straightline basis over the vesting period based on the company’s estimate of shares that will 
eventually vest the fair value of share options issued is measured using a binomial model the expected life used  
in the model has been adjusted based on management’s best estimate for the effects of nontransferability 
exercise restrictions and behavioural considerations 
i derivative financial instruments 
the company’s activities expose it primarily to the financial risks of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and 
interest rates the company uses derivative financial instruments to hedge its exposure to foreign exchange for the 
purchase of capital equipment denominated in foreign currencies and the sale of goods similarly denominated 
the use of financial derivatives is governed by the group’s policies approved by the board of directors which 
provide written principles on the use of financial derivatives consistent with the group’s risk management strategy 
the company does not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes 
changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments that are designated and effective as cash flow hedges  
of forecast transactions are recognised directly in equity and the ineffective portion is recognised immediately in the 
profit and loss account if the cash flow hedge of a firm commitment or forecast transaction results in the recognition 
of an asset or liability then at the time the asset or liability is recognised the associated gains and losses on the 
derivative that had previously been recognised in equity are included in the initial measurement of the asset or 
liability for the hedges that do not result in the recognition of an asset or liability amounts deferred in equity are 
recognised in the profit and loss account in the same period in which the hedged item affects the net profit or loss 
hedge accounting is discontinued when the hedging instrument expires or is sold terminated or exercised  
or no longer qualifies for hedge accounting at that time any cumulative gain or loss on the hedging instrument 
recognised in equity is retained in equity until the forecast transaction occurs if a hedge transaction is no longer 
expected to occur the net cumulative gain or loss previously recognised in equity is included in the profit and loss 
account for the period 
derivatives embedded in other financial instruments or other host contracts are treated as separate derivatives  
when their risks and characteristics are not closely related to those of their host contracts and the host contracts  
are not carried at fair value with unrealised gains or losses reported in the profit and loss account 
those derivatives which are not designated as hedges are classified as held for trading and gains and losses on 
those instruments are recognised immediately in the profit and loss account  104 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the company financial statements continued
1 accounting policies continued
j pension costs 
the company operates a defined benefits pension scheme and a defined contribution pension scheme  
the company accounts for the defined benefits pension scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme  
under the provisions of frs 17 pension costs for the company’s defined contribution scheme are charged  
against profits as payable further details are set out in note 14 
k leases 
rental costs under operating leases are charged to the profit and loss account in equal annual amounts over the 
periods of leases 
l cash flows 
a statement of cash flows has not been prepared for the company as in accordance with financial reporting 
standard 1 revised ‘cash flow statements’ ‘frs 1’ cash flow information has been shown in the financial 
statements of the ultimate parent company 
2 profit from operations 
as permitted by section 408 of the companies act 2006 no profit and loss account of the company is included  
in these financial statements the profit for the financial period for the company was £72 million 2010 – loss of  
£44 million 
3 auditors’ remuneration 
fees paid to the auditors in respect of their audit of the company were £69000 2010 – £62000 
4 employee information 
the average monthly number of employees including executive directors was 
2011  
number 
2010 
number 
sales  16 12 
administration 44 43 
60 55 
their aggregate remuneration comprised 
2011  
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
wages and salaries 3571 3801 
social security costs 346 346 
other pension costs  99 108 
sharebased payment  284 60 
4300 4315  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 105
5 tangible fixed assets 
land and buildings 
land and buildings  
freehold 
£’000
long leases  
£’000 
plant and 
machinery  
£’000 
fixtures 
fittings 
equipment 
and motor 
vehicles 
£’000
total 
£’000
cost or valuation 
at 31 july 2009 47379 5765 2807 2555 58506
additions –– 3 446449
transfers from subsidiaries 5800 429 – – 6229
transfers to subsidiaries – – – 549 549
disposals 1695– – 1651860
at 30 july 2010 51484 6194 2810 2287 62775
additions –542 236 13932171
transfers from subsidiaries – – 99741 1920 101661
transfers to subsidiaries 108 – 99741 1934101783
reclassifications –– 576 576–
disposals 5255– 131 8796265
at 29 july 2011 46121 6736 3491 2211 58559
accumulated depreciation and impairment 
at 31 july 2009 13233 2418 1868 1560 19079
charge 690 308 188 273 1459
transfers from subsidiaries 274 – – – 274
transfers to subsidiaries – – – 498 498
disposals 413– – 86499
at 29 july 2010 13784 2726 2056 1249 19815
charge 691 334 850 252 2127
transfers from subsidiaries – – 66102 1890 67992
transfers to subsidiaries – – 66699 1911 68610
disposals 1440– 88 4101938
reclassifications –– 297 297–
at 29 july 2011 13035 3060 2518 773 19386
net book value 
at 30 july 2010 38449 3134 292 1514 43389
at 29 july 2011 33086 3676 973 1438 39173
the company has freehold land with a book value of £5214000 2010 – £6040000 which has not been 
depreciated  
the net book value of the company’s land and buildings includes £198000 2010 – £204000 in respect of  
assets revalued on 31 july 1985 the historical written down cost of these assets would have been £80000  
2010 – £84000  106 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the company financial statements continued
6 investments held as fixed assets 
shares 
at cost 
£’000
loans  
£’000 
total 
£’000 
investment in subsidiaries 
balance at 30 july 2010 72872 22746 95618 
acquisitions 18638 – 18638 
loan capitalisations  12000 12000 – 
loan advances – 23972 23972 
loan repayments – 23824 23824
impairments 9000 – 9000
balance at 29 july 2011 94510 10894 105404 
all of the above are unlisted investments the principal trading subsidiaries are listed in note 33 of the consolidated 
financial statements 
acquisitions of shares at cost relates to the acquisition of tactical solutions uk limited on 9 february 2010 as 
disclosed in note 11 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements loan capitalisations comprise capital 
contributions by loan waiver of £6000000 to service graphics limited and £6000000 to occam dm limited  
the investment in st ives direct limited was impaired in the period by £9000000 due to a reduction in the value  
of the investments in its subsidiary companies  
7 debtors amounts falling due within and after more than one year 
2011  
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
within one year 
amounts owed by group undertakings 4326 1218 
loans receivable  1986 – 
other debtors 918 1521 
tax recoverable 1466 858 
prepayments and accrued income 671 1077 
derivative assets 4 59 
9371 4733 
after more than one year 
deferred tax asset – 2 
loans receivable 2429 3495 
2429 3497 
loans receivable within one year of £1986000 and after more than one year of £2429000 comprise sterling 
amounts receivable as deferred consideration for the sale of the magazine printing business on 6 april 2011 as 
outlined in note 12 to the consolidated financial statements these loans are noninterest bearing and are carried  
at amortised cost the prior year figure comprises a us dollardenominated promissory loan note of us55 million 
received as part of the consideration on the sale of the us operation in january 2009 together with interest rolled  
up into the loan the promissory loan note bears interest at 6 per annum the promissory loan note was fully 
impaired in the period  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 107
8 creditors amounts falling due within and after more than one year 
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
within one year 
amounts owing to group undertakings 8673 8552
bank loans and overdrafts note 9 18190 4910
consideration payable on purchase of subsidiary 1677 –
trade creditors 878 1602
other creditors including tax and social security 2402 2135
accruals and deferred income 1619 2229
33439 19428
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
after more than one year 
consideration payable on purchase of subsidiary 2621 –
bank loans and overdrafts note 9 – 13193
2621 13193
consideration payable for the purchase of a subsidiary of £1677000 within one year and of £2621000 after more 
than one year represent the fair values of the loan notes issued as part of the consideration for tactical solutions 
uk ltd in the period as detailed in note 11 to the consolidated financial statements  
9 borrowings and finance obligations 
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
within one year 
bank overdrafts 18190 4910
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
after more than one year 
bank loans – 13193
bank overdrafts and loans 
in october 2009 the company entered into a £700 million committed revolving multicurrency facility which  
was reduced to £55 million in the period following the disposal of the magazine printing business the facility 
terminates on 31 october 2012 within the facility up to £150 million may be drawn as an overdraft interest  
on loan drawdowns is charged at libor plus a margin which varies between 225 and 275 depending  
on the ratio of the consolidated net debt to ebitda excluding nonunderlying items of the company and its 
subsidiary undertakings interest on overdraft drawdowns is charged at 200 over uk base rate 
the company’s overdraft is guaranteed by certain united kingdom subsidiary undertakings and the company 
guarantees the loans and overdrafts of those united kingdom subsidiary undertakings at 29 july 2011 the 
aggregate liability for the company under this guarantee amounted to £11765000 2010 – £83557000  
the aggregate value of the company’s loans and overdraft liabilities guaranteed by certain united kingdom 
subsidiaries amounted to £18677000 2010 – £43746000 
as at 29 july 2011 there was no loan or overdraft secured against the assets of the company 2010 – £nil  
the directors consider that the carrying amount of the loans and overdrafts approximates their fair value 
the company has guaranteed amounts payable to certain suppliers of one of its trading subsidiaries  
the maximum aggregate liability under these guarantees is £1112000   108 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
notes to the company financial statements continued
10 provisions for liabilities and charges 
provision 
for repairs 
£’000
deferred tax 
£’000 
total 
£’000 
balance at 31 july 2010 166 –  166 
reclassification of deferred tax assets –  2  2
charge to profit and loss account – 112 112 
balance at 29 july 2011 166 110 276 
the amounts of deferred tax provided in the financial statements are as follows 
2011  
£’000 
2010 
£’000 
capital allowances in excess of depreciation 230 149 
other timing differences 120 151
110 2
11 called up share capital and share premium account 
number of shares
ordinary 
shares of  
10p each  
£’000 
share 
premium 
account 
£’000 
allotted and fully paid 
at 30 july 2010 103583137 10358 46706 
issue of share capital  2265370 227 1834 
at 29 july 2011 105848507 10585 48540 
all authorised and issued share capital is represented by equity shareholdings 96173 shares were issued in the 
period as the final element of the consideration paid for the equity of occam dm limited and 2169197 shares were 
issued as partial consideration for the acquisition of tactical solutions uk limited as outlined in note 11 to the 
consolidated financial statements  
12 other reserves 
capital 
redemption 
reserve 
£’000
share 
option 
reserve 
£’000
esop 
reserve 
£’000
hedging  
reserve  
£’000 
total 
£’000 
balance at 30 july 2010 1238 60 1913 59 556
recognition of sharebased payments – 284 – – 284 
issue of share capital – – 769 – 769 
gains on cash flow hedges 
transferred to underlying hedged items – – – 59 59
arising on forward currency contracts – – – 4 4 
balance at 29 july 2011 1238 344 1144 4 442 
on 1 november 2010 pursuant to the directors and senior executives deferred bonus scheme outlined on page 48 
of the directors’ remuneration report a portion of the net bonus payable to matt armitage patrick martell and lloyd 
wigglesworth in respect of the 2010 financial year was used to purchase 201163 shares in the company from the 
group’s employee benefit trust ‘ebt’ on behalf of these directors at 81 pence per share an esop reserve was  
set up when the ebt originally purchased these shares at a price of 383 pence per share when the shares were 
purchased on behalf of the directors in the period an amount equivalent to their original cost of £769000 was 
released from the esop reserve with the difference of £607000 between the price paid on behalf of the directors 
and the original cost to the ebt of the shares taken directly to retained earnings  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 109
13 profit and loss account 
£’000
balance at 30 july 2010 57513
profit for the financial period 7184
issue of share capital 607
dividends paid on equity shares 3616
balance at 29 july 2011 60474
the adjustment to retained earnings in respect of the issue of share capital is explained in note 12 above 
14 retirement benefits 
the company participates in both the defined benefits and defined contribution schemes operated by st ives plc 
the defined benefits scheme is a multiemployer scheme the assets and liabilities of which are held in separate 
trusteeadministered funds the pension costs are based on pension costs across the group as a whole for the 
defined contribution scheme the profit and loss charge represents contributions payable 
the pension costs of the company are disclosed in note 4 
for the purpose of frs 17 the company is unable to identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the 
defined benefits scheme on a consistent and reasonable basis accordingly the company accounts for the defined 
benefits scheme as if it were a defined contribution scheme  
the defined benefits scheme was closed to new entrants with effect from 6 april 2002 and closed to future benefit 
accrual from 31 august 2008 there are no contributions to fund future defined benefit accrual after 31 august 2008 
contributions of £2200000 were made in the period and the company expects to contribute £2200000 to the 
scheme in 2012 
the group is required to account for the defined benefits scheme under international accounting standard  
19 − employee benefits ‘ias 19’ the ias 19 disclosures included in note 26 of the notes to the consolidated 
financial statements have been based on the results of the actuarial valuation of the defined benefits scheme  
as at 6 april 2007 adjusted to allow for the assumptions and actuarial methodology required by ias 19 and  
updated to 29 july 2011 by the scheme’s actuary these disclosures show that the scheme’s assets represented 
952 of the scheme’s liabilities 2010 – 865 
15 capital commitments 
2011 
£’000
2010 
£’000
capital expenditure contracted but not provided 273 1097 110 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
five y ear record
52 weeks to 
29 july 
2011 
£’000
52 weeks to 
30 july 
2010
restated
£’000
52 weeks to 
31 july 
2009
restated
£’000
52 weeks to  
1 august 
2008 
restated 
£’000 
53 weeks to 
3 august 
2007 
restated 
£’000 
revenue 
print 282736 290542 386782 391200 365764 
marketing 14054 888 – – – 
usa – ––– 59266 
296790 291430 386782 391200 425030 
profitloss from operations before nonunderlying items 
print 20870 18968 10150 32953 32834 
marketing services 450 216 – – – 
usa – ––– 1495 
21320 18752 10150 32953 34329 
nonunderlying items 4009 4622 14532 1126 2765
profitloss from operations 17311 14130 4382 34079 31564 
investment income 13973 13267 12857 11051 10171 
finance costs 14388 14222 15716 14508 14179
profitloss before taxation 16896 13175 7241 30622 27556 
income tax expense 3072 1974 916 16096 7157
profitloss on ordinary activities after taxation 13824 11201 6325 14526 20399 
profitloss on discontinued operations 18585 3463 8233 1714 14084
profitloss for the period 4761 7738 14558 16240 6315 
earnings per share 
basic 1322 1087 614 1410 613 
continuing before nonunderlying items 1445 1183 494 1957 2025 
balance sheet 
property plant and equipment 62376 107438 122178 141581 147006 
goodwill 67443 54383 46274 54679 54679 
other intangible assets 11522 4683 1215 1753 1394 
other noncurrent assets 2429 5052 8008 2517 5123 
assets held for sale – 2140 1282 6650 3345 
other current assets 88558 89402 98218 116811 100121 
liabilities held for sale  – – –1142 – 
other current liabilities 76217 84606113717 79015 67719
noncurrent liabilities 19530 48606 41390 88964 79422
net assets 136581 129886 122068 154870 164527 
revenue and profitloss from operations before nonunderlying items is shown by business segment the figures  
for print segment for the periods ended 3 august 2007 1 august 2008 and 31 july 2009 include the results of the 
operations previously classified within the media and commercial segments including those of the magazine  
printing business  
for the year ended 3 august 2007 the us segment is included within continuing operations the five year record is 
not audited 
 nonunderlying items comprise restructuring charges provision releases operating results of noncontinuing operations amortisation of acquired 
intangibles and oneoff items  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 111
financial calendar
financial year ended 30 july 2010 
record date for final dividend 3 december 2010 
annual general meeting 30 november 2010 
payment date for final dividend of 175p per ordinary share  23 december 2010  
financial year ended 29 july 2011 
half year end 28 january 2011 
announcement of half year results 15 march 2011 
record date for interim dividend 8 april 2011 
payment date for interim dividend of 175p per ordinary share 3 may 2011 
financial year end 29 july 2011 
announcement of full year results 4 october 2011 
annual general meeting 29 november 2011 
record date for proposed final dividend 2 december 2011 
payment date for proposed final dividend of 350p per ordinary share  23 december 2011 
financial year ended 27 july 2012 
half year end 27 january 2012 
announcement of half year results march 2012 
financial year end 27 july 2012 
 if approved by shareholders at the 2011 annual general meeting the proposed final dividend will be paid on 23 december 2011  112 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
shareholder information
corporate information 
further information about the group can be found on our website wwwstivescouk 
this year’s annual report and accounts as well as copies of past years’ annual reports and accounts half year  
and interim management statements and shareholder circulars are available to view and download from our 
investor centre regulatory announcements and press releases made during the year and in past years are also 
available to view in the media centre section of our investor centre 
should you wish to receive further copies of the annual report and accounts or a copy of our environmental report 
please contact the company secretary st ives plc one tudor street london ec4y 0ah 
shares 
st ives plc ordinary shares of 10 pence each are listed on the london stock exchange and trade under the symbol 
siv our international securities identification number isin is gb0007689002 and our stock exchange daily 
official list sedol number is 768900  
share price information and our latest regulatory announcements can be obtained from the stock exchange website 
wwwlondonstockexchangecom 
shareholding enquiries 
st ives plc’s register is maintained by capita registrars who are able to deal with shareholders’ queries including  
in respect of any of the following matters 
 transfer of shares 
 change of name or address 
 registering the death of a shareholder 
 lost share certificates 
 lost or out of date dividend warrants 
 the payment of dividends directly into a bank or building society account 
their contact details are st ives plc shareholder services capita registrars the registry 34 beckenham road 
beckenham kent br3 4tu 
capita’s shareholder helpline telephone number is 0871 664 0300 calls cost 10 pence per minute plus network 
extras if you are calling from overseas please telephone  44 208 639 3399 lines are open from 830 am to  
530 pm monday to friday 
alternatively you can email your query to our registrars at ssdcapitaregistarscom although for legal reasons  
they may subsequently require you to confirm any instruction in writing  
our principal advisers 
stockbrokers 
numis securities limited the london stock exchange building 10 paternoster square london ec4m 7lt 
financial advisers 
nm rothschild  sons limited new court st swithin’s lane london ec4p 4du 
bankers 
hsbc bank plc 76 edgware road london w2 2eq 
the royal bank of scotland plc po box 2 ag 63 piccadilly london w1a 2ag 
solicitors 
herbert smith llp exchange house primrose street london ec2a 2hs  st ives plc 
registered in england  wales no 1552113 
registered office 
one tudor street  
london ec4y 0ah
printed on hello silk and revive pure white  
uncoated paper 
hello silk is made from 100 virgin wood fibre from 
wellmanaged forests independently certified according 
to the rules of the forest stewardship council fsc 
revive pure white uncoated is made from 100 deinked 
postconsumer waste 
both papers are manufactured at a mill that is certified  
to iso14001 and emas environmental standards 
the mill uses pulps that are totally chlorine free tcf and 
some pulp is bleached using an elemental chlorine free 
ecf process the inks used are all vegetablebased
printed at st ives westerham press ltd iso14001  
fsc certified and carbonneutral®
designed by black sun plc
thank you to all our valued customers for allowing us 
to use photographs in this document that represent the 
products and services we supply st ives plc
one tudor street 
london 
ec4y 0ah
telephone  020 7928 8844 
fax 020 7902 6436
wwwstivescouk


Summary:
 6 st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011
chief executive’s performance review
expanding  
our capabilities
“ the group continues to 
restructure its activities  
and implement plans to 
reposition the business”
patrick martell
chief executive
we are pleased to report further significant financial 
progress the continued development of our marketing 
services capabilities and the ongoing success in 
repositioning the business away from commoditised  
print markets
we have again taken action to reduce our costs and 
improve efficiencies in our print operations whilst  
investing for growth in our marketing services businesses 
further to the recent acquisition of tactical solutions  
we are delighted to have announced the acquisition 
of response one and pragma consulting as with our 
previous acquisitions they are strong businesses with 
excellent management teams have potential to grow  
and are a great fit with our strategic reshaping
we finished the year with a cash balance of £163 million 
despite the cash cost of the ongoing restructuring and  
the acquisition of tactical solutions in addition we are 
pleased to have once again further strengthened the 
balance sheet with net assets increasing by £67 million  
to £1366 million
the board recommends a final dividend of 350p making 
a full year dividend of 525p 350p in 2010 if approved 
the final dividend will be paid on 23 december 2011 to 
shareholders on the register at 2 december 2011 with  
an exdividend date of 30 november 2011  st ives plc annual report and accounts 2011 7
 
trading conditions during the year continued to be 
very tough as the economic climate remained subdued 
underlying group revenue of £2968 million was 18 
higher compared to the previous year as our marketing 
services segment offset the decline in print revenues  
we have made further significant progress in improving 
the underlying operating profits of the business to  
£213 million 2010 – £188 million and we are pleased 
that progress has been made in both reporting segments 
due to the actions taken to reduce costs and improve 
manufacturing efficiencies in the print operations  
and the investment made to grow our marketing  
services segment 
print
our print operations represented 953 of group  
external sales for the year this comprises the books 
exhibition and events point of sale and direct response 
and commercial print businesses
2011  
£’000
2010  
£’000
print total revenue before  
nonunderlying items 282736 290541 
print operating profit before  
nonunderlying items 20870 18966 
books
the group’s book business accounted for 273 of  
the print segment revenues sales were down by  
33 compared to the previous year at £771 million  
2010 – £797 million but once again we benefited from  
increased market share and growth in our added value 
and distribution services actions taken to improve 
manufacturing efficiencies and reduce costs mitigated  
the impact of lower revenues and the business continues 
to perform very well 
the investments into digital print and printondemand 
continue to be very successful and we are delighted to 
have made a further strategic and unique investment  
in digital production working with our technology 
partners we have invested in an integrated digital  
system which significantly extends the run length  
at which digital production is a better solution than 
conventional manufacture 
our strategy is to provide services that enable our 
customers to profitably produce physical books in smaller 
quantities ensure their availability deliver them directly 
and in so doing minimise the risk associated with holding 
stock we continue to assess the impact upon volumes 
from ebook sales which remain at levels lower than  
those reported in the us we are very confident that our 
ongoing investment in this business will ensure we remain 
the market leader are able to respond to the dynamic 
changes in this market place and continue to increase  
our market share we have renewed a number of our 
contracts during the year including that with hachette
being able to provide extensive conventional and digital 
production an integrated warehouse facility and post 
production services from a single point enables us to 
provide a unique service whilst reducing the cost and 
time of fulfilment as a result of our superior levels of 
service and reliability we have again produced the 
majority of the bestselling books which included the 
following titles
for penguin ‘how hard can it be’ by jeremy clarkson 
and ‘life and laughing’ by michael macintyre for hodder 
‘one day’ by david nicholls for headline ‘the family’ by 
martina cole for little brown ‘post mortuary’ by patricia 
cornwell for transworld ‘madeleine’ by kate mccann for 
harpercollins ‘the corrections’ by jonathan franzen for 
bloomsbury ‘the finkler question’ booker prize winner 
by howard jacobson for random house ‘a journey’ by 
tony blair and for orion ‘the tiger’s wife’ orange prize 
winner by téa obreht
exhibitions and events
sales for the exhibitions events and outdoor media 
business represented 123 of print segment sales
sales of £348 million 2010 – £313 million were 114 
ahead of last year but the margins were impacted by the 
shortterm cost and disruption caused by the move of our 
principal site from wandsworth to chessington the move 
has been completed successfully and the business is  
well placed to benefit from this new facility and ahead of 
the increased activity associated with the 2012 london 
olympics in addition to the new facility we have invested 
in additional digital output and implemented a new it 
system for the business