AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 Resilience, investment & innovation AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 OUR INVESTMENT CASE We have strong 13m fundamentals upon personal members which to build a better and business AA and deliver customers READ MORE sustainable returns. OUR PERFORMANCE P26 Market leadership High barriers The AA is by far the largest to entry roadside assistance provider Our scale, proprietary with c.40% share of the UK deployment system, approach consumer market and c.50% to innovation and high levels share of the business-to- of customer service pose business (B2B) market. significant barriers to entry We have a growing Insurance for our competitors. business and are well placed to capture market share through our proprietary data, strength of brand and scale. READ MORE AT-A-GLANCE P6 Opportunity for digital transformation We are at the forefront of digital A highly trusted development and innovation in our sector with the potential commercial brand to transform the services we The AA has one of the most deliver and the experience widely recognised and trusted our members and customers brands in the UK, building on receive. more than 113 years of service READ MORE and innovation. OUR STRATEGY P17 Strong cash generation The majority of our customers pay for our services in advance so that virtually all of our profits convert to operating cash flow. Excellent standards of service delivery We have more patrols than our competitors, with excellent training, equipment and technology providing the UK’s premium roadside assistance service. READ MORE OUR STRATEGY P17 Making Britain’s Business Our driving life better Since its inception in 1905, the AA has innovated and been at the forefront of providing the UK motorist with a reliable, trusted, premium roadside assistance service. From its beginnings as a membership organisation for motoring enthusiasts, the AA today continues to be the Our Performance market leader in the roadside assistance market with a strong and growing insurance business. Under our new strategy, we are making the investments required to reposition the business as a digital led membership organisation capable of delivering exciting products and services that truly make Britain’s driving life better. Governance FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Revenue Trading EBITDA1 Operating profit Interest cover2 £979m £341m £219m 2.6x 2018: £960m 2018: £391m 2018: £307m 2018: 2.8x 1 Profit before tax Profit after tax Basic EPS Adjusted basic EPS Financial Statements £53m £42m 6.9p 14.9p 2018: £141m 2018: £111m 2018: 18.2p 2018: 21.8p Net debt Free cash flow to equity1 Net decrease in cash and cash Total announced dividend per share £2.7bn (£22m) equivalents 2p 2018: £2.7bn 2018: (£5m) (£34m) 2018: 5p 2018: (£61m) 1 Non-GAAP measures explained on pages 28, 30, 106 and 107. 2 See page 30. CONTENTS STRATEGIC REPORT GOVERNANCE REPORT FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2 The road ahead 52 Chairman’s governance overview 90 Independent Auditors’ Report 4 Chairman’s statement 53 Governance Report 96 Consolidated income statement 6 At-a-glance 54 Board of Directors 96 Consolidated statement of comprehensive income 7 Our business model 56 Executive Committee 97 Consolidated statement of financial position 10 Market context 58 Roles and responsibilities 98 Consolidated statement of changes in equity 14 Chief Executive Officer’s review 59 Our Board in 2019 and beyond 99 Consolidated statement of cash flows 17 Our strategy 60 Board evaluation, induction and training 100 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 24 Key performance indicators 61 Our governance structure 136 Company statement of financial position 26 Our performance 62 Investor relations 136 Company statement of changes in equity 28 Segmental reporting 64 Nomination Committee Report 137 Notes to the Company financial statements 29 Financial review 66 Risk Committee Report 139 Shareholder information 33 Risk management 68 Audit Committee Report 36 Going the extra mile 72 Directors’ Remuneration Report 38 Engaging with stakeholders 85 Directors’ Report 39 Corporate Responsibility AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 1 THE ROAD AHEAD Last year, we introduced our new strategy putting service, data and innovation at the heart of the AA. This will enable us to innovate and grow Roadside and accelerate growth in Insurance. OPERATIONAL & SERVICE EXCELLENCE SERVICE, ROADSIDE INNOVATION INSURANCE Innovate and AND DATA Invest to grow AT THE HEART accelerate growth The right plan for OF THE AA HIGH PERFORMANCE CULTURE We will deliver our strategy in three phases as we todaytest and iterate new digital propositions and build our insurance offering. It will be underpinned by improving our operations, service and culture. By phase three, we will fully utilise our data and digital offering to deliver connected, integrated Roadside and Insurance propositions that will be truly differentiated and will look to capture more of the car ownership value chain. READ MORE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REVIEW P14 and the best peopleHiring the best people and nurturing a high-performance culture are essential to the successful delivery of our strategy. We made several key hires during the year and implemented a number of operational initiatives to create a healthy, collaborative and inclusive environment for all our people. READ MORE OUR STRATEGY P17 2 AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 Our Business Our Our Performance Putting service, innovation and data at the heart to secure our of the AA. Governance Our vision for the future is simple, it’s a commitment futureto making Britain’s driving life better. Our investments in our service, data and innovation combined with the strength of our brand, scale and commitment to partnerships will help deliver this. Financial Statements READ MORE OUR STRATEGY P17 people AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 3 CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT Building resilience and delivering value I am confident that under Simon Breakwell’s leadership we have the right strategy and team in place to meet the challenge of restoring shareholder value and returning the business to growth. John Leach . Chairman . We began FY19 by announcing our new to breakdowns being 3% higher than the average strategy building on two critical things, over the last 5 years. Despite this, we continued first the fundamental strengths of this business to deliver outstanding customer service and and its brand, and second, on the good work were pleased to be the outright winner of that has been done since the IPO. Through What Car? breakdown provider in 2018 and to disciplined investment in our people, service be recognised by Which? as the only breakdown and innovation, our plan will deliver growth in assistance provider in 2018 to receive a 5 star Roadside and accelerate growth in Insurance. rating for ‘repair at roadside’. We recognise that an important facet of A consequence of the additional demand for building trust again is being able to deliver our services during the first half of the year was on our commitments and meeting these on a increased reliance on third-party garaging which consistent basis. I am proud to say that we are in turn led to additional costs for the business. on the right path to achieving this, having met This accelerated our programme of investment our guidance for Trading EBITDA in FY19. in the front line and we were pleased to have Our results, while significantly down from exceeded our target of recruiting an additional last year, reflect the deliberate decision by the 65 patrols and more than 200 contact agents Board to invest in additional strategic opex and ahead of plan. The additional recruitment, position the AA as the pre-eminent membership alongside other initiatives we have in the services organisation. pipeline, including broadening our range of services to cover vehicle service, maintenance We made several key hires, strengthened and repair and better managing peak demand our management team and simplified our through digital channels, means that over reporting lines in the year to promote greater the long term we will be better able to make transparency, collaboration and speed of significant savings and grow profitably. execution, all critical focus areas for our business. In line with our strategy, we now In B2B, we retained or extended all our key report our performance across two core contracts including Lloyds Banking Group (LBG), segments. Roadside is led by Gareth Kirkwood, the largest roadside assistance contract in the Managing Director of Roadside Services; UK and a pan-European wide contract with Ford Insurance is led by Janet Connor, Managing leveraging our partnership with ARC Europe Director of Insurance. Working closely with Group. In addition, we also won a three-year Gareth and Janet is James Frost, Chief contract with Arval following a competitive Innovation Officer who joined in October tendering process, a significant win for the AA to lead all product innovation and marketing in the Fleet and Leasing sector. The contract efforts across both segments. renewals, extensions and wins are a strong endorsement of our strategy and a testament The demand for our Roadside Assistance to the value of our operational scale, service services remains as relevant today as it was excellence and breadth of innovative customer over a century ago. The extreme weather solutions we can bring to our B2B partners and conditions during the first half of the year led personal members. 4 AA plc Annual Report and Accounts 2019 Our Business Our Governance of the aims of the Hampton-Alexander Review Our Performance Solid operational and have this year provided additional details We have worked hard to improve the Company’s on gender diversity. We are pleased to have an governance, rebalance the skills and expertise performance Executive Committee that consists of 33.3% on the Board and ensure it remains in line women, and we have 25% of women on the across Roadside with best practice.