Final Results

12 July 2017

Micro Focus International plc

Unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2017

Micro Focus International plc ("the Company" or "the Group", LSE: MCRO.L), the global enterprise software product group, announces unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 30 April 2017.

Revenues in the year were $1,380.7m, slightly above the mid-point of management's guidance range, 0.9% lower than the prior year's pro-forma constant currency ("pro-forma CCY") revenues, $1,392.7m. Underlying Adjusted EBITDA** of $640.9m was 4.2% higher than the $615.3m delivered in the prior year on a pro-forma constant currency basis ("pro-forma CCY")*. Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 19.7% to 175.65 cents (2016: 146.70 cents) and the full year dividend increased by 32.1% to 88.06 cents (2016: 66.68 cents).

In March 2016 the Company announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Spartacus Acquisition Holdings Corp. the holding company of Serena Software Inc. and its subsidiaries (together, "Serena" or "the Serena Group"). The acquisition completed on 2 May 2016 and consequently trading results of Serena are included in the results for the year ended 30 April 2017 set out below.

In September 2016 the Company announced it had agreed with Hewlett Packard Enterprises ("HPE") to merge with the software business assets of HPE ("HPE Software") by way of merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of HPE. The transaction is expected to complete at the beginning of September this year with the listing of consideration shares on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") and the simultaneous listing of the American Depositary Shares ("ADS") on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE"). Exceptional pre-acquisition costs have been incurred in the year and will be incurred up to Completion in FY18.

Key highlights

· On a reported basis:

o Total revenues of $1,380.7m (2016: $1,245.0m), an increase of 10.9%.

o Adjusted EBITDA** of $651.1m (2016: $546.8m), an increase of 19.1%.

o Underlying Adjusted EBITDA increased by 20.4% to $640.9m (2016: $532.5m)

· On a pro-forma CCY* basis to provide a better comparison of like-for-like performance:

o Total revenues of $1,380.7m (2016: pro-forma CCY $1,392.7m), a decrease of 0.9%, driven by :

• Strong SUSE Product Portfolio performance where revenues grew by 21.2% on a pro-forma CCY* basis;

• On plan performance in Micro Focus Product Portfolio with expected reduction in maintenance and Serena revenues.

o Adjusted EBITDA of $651.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $629.9m), an increase of 3.4%.

o Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of $640.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY $615.3m), an increase of 4.2%.

· Underlying Adjusted EBITDA margins improved further to 46.4% (2016: pro-forma CCY 44.2%) through continued focus on operational efficiencies.

· Completion of the Serena acquisition took place on 2 May 2016 for an Enterprise Value of $540.0m on a cash and debt free basis, partially funded by a share placing in FY16 of 10.9m shares at a price of 1,455 pence raising £158.2m ($225.7m) before expenses.

· Exceptional costs incurred in the year of $97.3m (2016: $27.9m) relate to integration costs, acquisition costs, pre-acquisition costs, property costs, severance and legal costs.

· Improved cash generation in the year:

o Cash generated from operations was $564.8m (2016: $456.1m) representing 102.0% (2016: 87.9%) of Adjusted EBITDA less exceptional costs.

o Net debt at 30 April 2017 was $1,410.6m (30 April 2016: $1,078.0m) down from $1,625.0m following the Completion of the Serena acquisition on 2 May 2016.

o Net debt to Facility EBITDA** for the year to 30 April 2017 is a multiple of 2.1 times (2016: 1.9 times), reducing from 2.5 times following the acquisition of Serena; medium-term target remains 2.5 times.

· Growth in diluted adjusted earnings per share of 19.7% to 175.65 cents (2016: 146.70 cents)***

· Second interim dividend increased by 17.3% to 58.33 cents per share (2016: final dividend 49.74 cents per share) resulting in a full year dividend of 88.06 cents per share (2016: 66.68 cents per share), an increase of 32.1% in line with twice covered dividend policy.

Statutory results

· Operating profit of $293.4m (2016: $294.9m)

· Profit before tax of $196.3m (2016: $195.4m)

· Basic earnings per share of 68.88 cents (2016: 74.50 cents) a decrease of 7.5%***

The table below shows the reported results for the Group at actual exchange rates for the year ended 30 April 2017 and the year ended 30 April 2016 together with pro-forma CCY comparatives:

* Group results presented for the year ended 30 April 2017 include the post-acquisition period results for Serena, GWAVA, OpenATTIC and OpenStack. Due to the significant size of the Serena acquisition the directors believe that the Group results are better understood by looking at the comparative results on a pro-forma basis for the combination of Base Micro Focus and Serena. The directors do not consider the other acquisitions to be of a significant size and therefore have not presented their results in the pro-forma comparatives.

Serena had a 31 January year end date prior to acquisition. Similar to other software companies with a perpetual licence model Serena's revenues were weighted to the end of each financial quarter and were weighted to the final financial quarter of the year. Micro Focus' experience is that when the financial year end is changed following acquisition the weighting of financial performance moves to the new financial year end. Consequently, in order to provide a meaningful comparison in the pro-forma results for the year ended 30 April 2017 the directors have combined the unaudited financials for Serena for the year ended 31 January 2016 with the audited figures for Base Micro Focus for the year ended 30 April 2016. From the date of acquisition, 2 May 2016 to 30 April 2017, Serena contributed $144.8m to revenue and $72.2m to profit, before any allocation of management costs and tax.

** In assessing the performance of the business, the directors use non GAAP measures "Adjusted Operating Profit", "Adjusted Operating Costs" and "Adjusted earnings per share", being the relevant statutory measures, prior to exceptional items, amortization of purchased intangibles and share based compensation. "Adjusted EBITDA" is the Adjusted Operating Profit prior to depreciation and amortization of purchased software. Underlying Adjusted EBITDA removes the impact of net capitalization/amortization of product development costs and foreign currency gains and losses from Adjusted EBITDA whilst Facility EBITDA is Adjusted EBITDA before amortization and impairment of capitalized product development costs. A reconciliation of these profit measures is given in note 8.

*** Earnings per share are detailed in note 13.

Kevin Loosemore, Executive Chairman of Micro Focus, commented:

"This has been a significant year for Micro Focus with the announcement of the combination with HPE Software to create one of the world's largest pure play software companies. The transaction is on track to complete on 1 September when Micro Focus will list the consideration shares on the London market and the American Depositary Shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

Operationally we have delivered revenue of $1,380.7m, slightly above the mid-point of the zero to minus 2% growth rate range given at the beginning of the year when compared with pro-forma CCY revenues for FY16, with revenues 0.9% down from $1,392.7m.

Mergers and acquisitions continue to be a key component of our strategy. Whilst the key strategic announcement in the period was the HPE Software transaction we also completed the acquisitions of Serena, GWAVA Inc., OpenATTIC, and the OpenStack IaaS and Cloud Foundry PaaS talent and technology assets. Over the last six years we have completed and successfully integrated 10 acquisitions and on completion of the HPE Software transaction will have increased the revenue of the business approximately 10 fold since 2011.

Micro Focus sets out to deliver consistent long-term shareholder returns of between 15% and 20% per annum. The board is confident that medium-term low single digit revenue growth, industry leading margins and strong cash conversion will ensure that Micro Focus can deliver on that strategy. These returns can be further enhanced by the appropriate deployment of capital in value enhancing acquisitions.

As promised, immediately prior to completion of the HPE Software transaction, we will declare a return of value of $500m, approximately $2.17 per share, to our existing shareholders. They have also seen their dividend increase to 88.06 cents from 66.68 cents per share last year in line with our twice covered dividend policy."

Enquiries:

About Micro Focus

Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO.L) is a global enterprise software Company supporting the technology needs and challenges of the Global 2000. Our solutions help organizations leverage existing IT investments, enterprise applications and emerging technologies to address complex, rapidly evolving business requirements while protecting corporate information at all times. Our product portfolios are Micro Focus and SUSE. Within Micro Focus our solution portfolios are COBOL Development and Mainframe Solutions, Host Connectivity, Identity and Access Security, IT Development and Operations Management Tools, and Collaboration and Networking. For more information, visit: www.microfocus.com. SUSE, a pioneer in Open Source software, provides reliable, interoperable Linux, cloud infrastructure and storage solutions that give enterprises greater control and flexibility. For more information, visit: www.suse.com.

Forward-looking statements

Certain statements in this preliminary statement of results are forward-looking. Although the Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to be correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The Group undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Executive Chairman's Statement

The year ended 30 April 2017 was a significant year for the Group. On 7 September 2016 the Company and Hewlett Packard Enterprise ("HPE"), announced that they had agreed that Micro Focus would acquire HPE's software business segment ("HPE Software") by way of merger with a wholly owned subsidiary of HPE incorporated to hold the business of HPE Software. This major transaction is on track to close at the beginning of September this year with the listing of consideration shares on the London Stock Exchange ("LSE") and the simultaneous listing of the ADS on the NYSE ("Completion"). Micro Focus existing shareholders will also be entitled to receive a Return of Value which in total will be $500m that will be declared immediately prior to Completion.

This will create a global infrastructure software business with pro-forma revenues in the 12 months to 30 April 2017 of approximately $4.4 billion and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $1.4 billion making it one of the largest dedicated software companies in the world and a leading technology stock on the LSE. Following Completion we will align our financial year end to 31 October and will initially report an 18 month financial period ending 31 October 2018. This will enable us to launch the new Company's financial year with effect from 1 November 2017.

During the year ended 30 April 2017 the Micro Focus business traded in line with the expectations we had set at the beginning of the year. This was achieved during a year of significant change and distraction as we;

· Completed the acquisition of Serena Software Inc. ("Serena"), together with three other smaller acquisitions;

· Integrated Serena into the Micro Focus Product Portfolio;

· Entered the FTSE 100 on 6 September 2016;

· Became the spin/merge partner for HPE Software;

· Began to work on the plan for integrating HPE Software;

· Completed required regulatory filings in the UK, USA and elsewhere;

· Refinanced the Company's existing debt; and

· Raised new banking facilities to enable the Completion of the HPE Software transaction and the Return of Value.

We have believed for some time that there are significant segments of the infrastructure software market that have matured. The response to this is consolidation. To be successful in this stage of a market both operational effectiveness and scale are critical. We believe that Micro Focus is now well positioned to lead in this space.

There is a clear customer requirement for a company that can innovate and extend the life of mature software assets.

Like the Attachmate Group ("TAG") and Serena acquisitions, the combination with HPE Software has clear business logic to extend Micro Focus' market presence in mature infrastructure software segments; to increase the operational efficiency of the combined Group; to deliver effective product management focused on customer centered innovation and improve sales productivity. It is 100% consistent with the Company's strategy which, as you will see in the following pages, has not had any significant changes from the plan laid out five and a half years ago. Micro Focus sets out to deliver consistent long-term shareholder returns of between 15% and 20% per annum. The board is confident that medium-term low single digit revenue growth, industry leading margins and strong cash conversion will ensure that Micro Focus can deliver on that strategy. These returns can be further enhanced by the appropriate deployment of capital in value enhancing acquisitions.

The Company has a business strategy, a financial strategy, an operating plan and an incentive strategy that all support our objective to achieve 15% to 20% compound annual return for shareholders. Since IPO in 2005 until 30 April 2017, the annual compound shareholder return over 12 years has been 29.3%. Adjusted diluted earnings per share have grown from 14.23 cents in 2006 to 175.65 cents in 2017 and dividends per share have grown from 6 cents to 88.06 cents with respective compound annual growth rates of 25.7% and 27.7% respectively.

When we announced the acquisition of TAG on 15 September 2014 we set out the four phase plan below for the combination of the businesses whilst continuing to deliver sustainable shareholder returns.

The only changes to this original plan which are reflected in the table above are that our detailed review concluded that the integration of systems supporting the new business will extend throughout the four year period and the rationalization of legal entities will extend through FY17 and beyond. This has now been superseded by the plan to adopt new systems being implemented in HPE Software. This software stack will give us one of the most up to date system stacks in the industry and serve as a scale platform for further mergers and acquisition ("M&A") integration.

We have set out a new four phase plan below for the combination of the Micro Focus and HPE Software businesses whilst continuing to deliver sustainable shareholder returns.

The acquisition of HPE Software may delay the return to revenue growth as we consolidate the HPE Software products. As with prior transactions we expect HPE Software's revenue trend to continue its historical decline until significant change has been implemented. This integration will be delivered by the four year plan that will consolidate and strengthen the combined business, with the goal of delivering modest revenue growth in the medium-term as well as underpinning our margin improvement objectives.

We are building a strong platform with the addition of HPE Software. Once we achieve our target cash conversion ratio for the Enlarged Group of 90% to 95% we will generate significant free cash flows from which we can deliver significant returns of value to our shareholders and/or further highly accretive acquisitions.

Following our integration review in 2015 we decided that the Group should operate two product portfolios, Micro Focus and SUSE, and have reported the business this way since 1 May 2015.

Since April 2011, I have held the roles of both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"). In December 2015 we announced that effective from 1 February 2016, I would be Executive Chairman and that Stephen Murdoch and Nils Brauckmann would become CEO of Micro Focus and CEO of SUSE respectively. Stephen and Nils discuss the operating performance of their respective portfolios for the year completed in the CEO reports.

Our performance in the year

Micro Focus Group delivered revenues and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of $1,380.7m and $640.9m respectively (2016: $1,245.0m and $532.5m). On a pro-forma constant currency ("CCY") basis the revenue reduced by 0.9% which is just above the mid-point of the guidance range given at the beginning of the year and re-confirmed at the interims.

Our net debt at 30 April 2017 was $1,410.6m and represents a multiple of 2.1 times Facility EBITDA of $673.4m, against our target of 2.5 times.

We would like to thank our employees for their continued dedication, commitment and hard work in delivering the full year results.

For the year ended 30 April 2017 bonuses were paid to executive management and non-commissioned staff in Micro Focus in line with the improvement in Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of the Group on a constant currency ("CCY") basis excluding the impact of in year acquisitions. Staff bonuses will be paid at 45.0% of their on target amount reflecting a 4.5% increase in Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of Micro Focus on a CCY basis excluding the impact of in year acquisitions. Executive Management received the same percentage.

Non-commissioned staff fully aligned with SUSE, were targeted 50% on improvement in Underlying Adjusted EBITDA of the Group on a CCY basis excluding the impact of in year acquisitions and 50% on delivery of Annual Contract Value ("ACV") growth targets in SUSE. Their bonus payment is 75.5% of their on target amount, reflecting stronger than targeted achievement in the ACV component.

The amount charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in respect of the Corporate Bonus plan in the actual results for the year ended 30 April 2017 was $20.8m (2016: $45.6m).

Delivering value to shareholders

The board has adopted a very clear plan of value creation.

Our priority is to improve the performance of the business in order to maximize the opportunity to generate modest revenue growth in the medium-term. At the same time we have created flexibility to allow value creation to shareholders through cash distributions or acquisitions as appropriate. We deliver value to our customers through customer centered innovation. We will do nothing that will constrain our ability to achieve organic growth and we are currently investing significant amounts on activities designed to enhance growth.

The TAG and HPE Software transactions are transformational in terms of the size of the Group from an operating point of view. It involves the type of transformation that many companies would have said that they needed to go private to achieve out of the public eye. The board and management of Micro Focus believe that it is quite possible to do this on the public market and deliver the resulting increase in value to existing shareholders.

The HPE Software transaction was also transformational in terms of market capitalization. The day before the announcement of the transaction Micro Focus had a market capitalization of £4,480.7m which had increased to £5,944.0m by 30 April 2017. This increased scale drew the attention of a new set of public company institutional investors and also meant that some existing institutional investors would be unable to hold their investments as we had become too big. We will also list in the USA through an ADS which further expands Micro Focus relevant investor base.

Working with our brokers, Numis Securities, we set about establishing a significant increase in our investor relations and outreach to the HPE shareholder base. Following this activity approximately 30% of the Company's shares are now held in North America.

The board continues to target a net debt to Facility EBITDA multiple of approximately 2.5 times. This is a modest level of gearing for a company with the cash generating qualities of Micro Focus. We are confident that this level of debt will not reduce our ability to deliver growth, invest in products and/or make appropriate acquisitions. As the integration of the businesses continues the board will keep the appropriate level of debt under review.

In order to complete the acquisition of HPE Software the Company has extended its revolving credit facility from $375.0m to $500.0m, refinanced its term loan debt of $1,515.2m with an improved repayment profile and raised new term loan debt of $3,485m to complete the transaction and make the Return of Value.

At 30 April 2017 we had net debt of $1,410.6m representing a net debt to Facility EBITDA of 2.1 times. On closing of the HPE Software transaction net debt will be approximately $4.6 billion representing approximately 3.3 times net debt to pro-forma Facility EBITDA for the 12 months ended 30 April 2017.

The board has adopted a dividend policy of being two times covered by the adjusted earnings of the Group. This policy has delivered a proposed second interim dividend of 58.33 cents (2016: 49.74 cents per share), which represents a 17.3% increase on last year's final dividend and gives a total proposed dividend for the year of 88.06 cents per share (2016: 66.68 cents), an increase of 32.1%.

The dividend will be paid in Sterling equivalent to 45.22 pence per share, based on an exchange rate of £1 = $1.29, the rate applicable on 11 July 2017, the date on which the board resolved to pay the dividend. The dividend will be paid on 25 August 2017 to shareholders on the register at 4 August 2017.

Board changes and succession planning

At the Completion of the HPE Software transaction the board has announced that Chris Hsu will become CEO and Stephen Murdoch will become Chief Operating Office ("COO"). Nils Brauckmann will continue as CEO of SUSE. To ensure delivery of the integration the board has agreed that I will remain Executive Chairman until the announcement of the first full year results after Completion. This is currently expected to be January 2019.

During the year there were a number of other board changes which arose due to the conditions of the agreement to acquire HPE Software ("Merger Agreement").

Effective 15 May 2017, Silke Scheiber and Darren Roos joined the board as two of the three independent Non-Executive Directors nominated by HPE pursuant to the Merger Agreement. Upon Completion, John Schultz, the Executive Vice President and General Counsel of HPE, will join the board as the Non-Executive Director nominated by HPE. The board has determined that Mr Schultz will not be independent. In addition, Chris Hsu, who will become CEO of Micro Focus upon Completion, will join the board at that time. An additional independent Non-Executive Director nominated by HPE and to be approved by the Micro Focus Nomination Committee, is expected to be appointed after Completion.

Steve Schuckenbrock and Tom Virden both resigned as Directors of Micro Focus, effective 25 April 2017, to ensure that the composition of the board remained in line with the UK corporate governance code and met the requirements of the Merger Agreement. We would like to thank Steve and Tom for their significant contributions to Micro Focus.

Stephen Murdoch remains CEO of Micro Focus until Completion and will then become COO and simultaneously step down from the board.

We welcome the new members of our board.

Outlook

Following completion of the acquisition of HPE Software, the Group will change its financial year end to 31 October and will report an 18 month financial period ending 31 October 2018. Assuming the transaction remains on schedule, the first six months will comprise six months of the current Micro Focus business and two months of the HPE Software business. There will then be a full 12 months trading of both businesses.

We anticipate revenues for the current Micro Focus Group business for the six months to 31 October 2017 will be broadly flat on the comparative period. In anticipation of the impending integration of the Micro Focus and HPE Software businesses in November we have put on hold any operational changes in the existing Micro Focus business. We will provide guidance for the combined 12 month period to 31 October 2018 when we report in January 2018 on the Group's performance in the six months ending 31 October 2017.

Having delivered 12 years of approximately 29.3% compound annual returns to investors we believe we have a strong operational and financial model that can continue to scale and provide excellent returns to our shareholders.

Kevin Loosemore

Executive Chairman

12 July 2017

Financial Review

Group results presented for the year ended 30 April 2017 include the post-acquisition period results for Serena, GWAVA, OpenATTIC and OpenStack. Due to the significant size of the Serena acquisition the directors believe that the Group results are better understood by looking at the comparative results on a pro-forma basis for the combination of Base Micro Focus and Serena. The directors do not consider the other acquisitions to be of a significant size and therefore have not presented their results in the pro-forma comparatives.

Serena had a 31 January year end date prior to acquisition. Similar to other software companies with a perpetual licence model Serena's revenues were weighted to the end of each financial quarter and were weighted to the final financial quarter of the year. Micro Focus' experience is that when the financial year end is changed following acquisition the weighting of financial performance moves to the new financial year end. Consequently, in order to provide a meaningful comparison in the pro-forma results for the year ended 30 April 2017 the directors have combined the unaudited financials for Serena for the year ended 31 January 2016 with the audited figures for Base Micro Focus for the year ended 30 April 2016. From the date of acquisition, 2 May 2016 to 30 April 2017, Serena contributed $144.8m to revenue and $72.2m to profit, before any allocation of management costs and tax.

A reconciliation between the GAAP and Non-GAAP performance measures is given on page 10 (Revenue), page 13 (Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA) and note 8. The Group operates two product portfolios (i) Micro Focus and (ii) SUSE. These are the reporting segments and the cash generating units for the Group.

The Micro Focus Product Portfolio contains our mature infrastructure software products that are managed on a portfolio basis akin to a "fund of funds" investment portfolio. This portfolio is being managed with a single product development group that makes and maintains the software, whilst the software is sold and supported through a geographic Go-to-Market ("GTM") organization. Products are organized into five sub-portfolios based on industrial logic. During the year Serena's product set was added to the Development & IT Operations Management Tools sub-portfolio and towards the end of the year GWAVA was added to Collaboration & Networking.

SUSE's characteristics are different due to the Open Source nature and the growth profile of its offerings. During the year SUSE made its first acquisition of OpenATTIC, a storage management software solution, and then took over assets and staff from HPE related to OpenStack Infrastructure as a Service ("IaaS") and Cloud Foundry Platform as a Service ("PaaS") technology.

Our revenue guidance at the beginning of the year was for Group revenues for the full year to grow between zero% and minus 2% when compared to the pro-forma CCY revenues of the comparable period with growth in SUSE expected to partially offset the anticipated decline in the Micro Focus Product Portfolio based on the revenue trends in the sub-portfolios.

The performance in the year was in line with management's guidance with overall revenues declining by 0.9% when compared to pro-forma CCY revenues.

The portfolios have directly controlled costs and then an allocation of the costs of the support functions that are centrally managed. Set out in the table below are the profitability metrics for our two product portfolios including the breakdown of Adjusted Operating Profit for the year and the reconciliation between Adjusted Operating Profit, Adjusted EBITDA and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA (note 8):

1 unaudited

The breakdown in revenue within the two product portfolios by revenue type in the year to 30 April 2017 compared to the pro-forma CCY and reported revenues in the year to 30 April 2016 is shown in the table below:

1 unaudited

The table below provides the proportion of revenue delivered during FY17 by each of the portfolios and the comparison to the pro-forma CCY and reported FY16 revenues with Micro Focus broken out into its sub-portfolios:

1 unaudited

We provide additional Key Performance Indicators ("KPIs") for the SUSE Product Portfolio. Total Contract Value ("TCV") is the amount invoiced to customers (excluding sales tax) in respect of new contracts and renewals completed in the year. The weighted average contract length expressed in months, reflecting the duration of the TCV is also being provided as growth in TCV alone without this information is potentially misleading. Finally we provide Annual Contract Value ("ACV") which aims to normalize contract length by only including the first 12 months of each new contract or renewal included within TCV. Where the contract length is less than 12 months all of the TCV is included in ACV.

We are not providing renewal rate information for SUSE or Micro Focus. Our methodology is still being refined in order to accommodate data from our multiple systems and we will seek to standardize on a single measure after Completion and integration with the HPE Software business. Once we have a common methodology and are content with the data we will provide clear explanations of both. In the meantime we believe that following the trends on the maintenance revenue for the Micro Focus sub-portfolios and subscription revenues for SUSE provides the best guidance on performance.

The table below shows revenues for the year by region for the year to 30 April 2017 compared to the pro-forma CCY revenue and reported revenue for the year ended 30 April 2016:

1 unaudited

Detailed analysis of the revenue performance of each of the product portfolios is provided in the CEO reports.

Reconciliation of pro-forma CCY revenues to reported revenues for the year ended 30 April 2016

Operating costs

The operating costs (including exceptional costs of $97.3m) for the year ended 30 April 2017 compared with pro-forma CCY and reported operating costs* for the year ended 30 April 2016 are shown below:

1 unaudited

*Re-classification of costs for Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income Presentation

As part of the HPE Software transaction the Company's shares and ADS will be listed on the London and New York Stock Exchange respectively. As part of the regulatory filing process in the USA the Group has reviewed its consolidated statement of comprehensive income presentation and has decided to re-classify both amortization of product development costs and amortization of acquired technology intangibles from research and development expenses to cost of sales. This presentation complies with IFRS and, in the view of the Company's Audit Committee, provides investors with a consolidated statement of comprehensive income presentation that is more comparable with other software companies listed on both markets.

Cost of goods sold

On a pro-forma CCY basis, cost of goods sold for the year decreased by $15.3m to $237.2m (2016: pro-forma CCY $252.5m) of which the exceptional costs were $2.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY $2.8m). The costs in this category predominantly relate to our consulting and helpline support operations, amortization of product development costs and amortization of acquired technology intangibles. Excluding exceptional items, amortization of product development costs of $22.4m (2016: pro-forma CCY $19.5m) and amortization of acquired technology intangibles of $69.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $75.2m) cost of goods sold decreased by $12.2m to $142.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $155.0m). The decrease is due primarily to a $7.2m reduction in staff related costs and the year-on-year impact of the reduction in Consultancy revenues.

On a reported basis, costs of goods sold in the year increased by $7.0m to $237.2m (2016: reported* $230.2m). Cost of sales increased primarily due to the acquisition of Serena and GWAVA ($17.7m and $0.7m respectively) and exceptional items of $0.7m to $2.9m (2016: reported $2.2m), offset by exchange rate differences of $1.4m and a reduction in staff related costs of $8.6m. Exceptional items are discussed later in this section.

Selling and distribution costs

On a pro-forma CCY basis, selling and distribution costs increased by $26.2m to $467.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $440.9m). Excluding the amortization of purchased trade names and customer relationships intangible assets of $143.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $106.7m), selling and distribution costs decreased by $10.9m to $323.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $334.2m). Within these costs were exceptional costs of $5.5m (2016: pro-forma CCY $3.8m), thus the underlying costs were $317.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $330.4m), a reduction of $12.6m (3.8%) on the prior year on a pro-forma CCY basis. Reductions include travel and office costs of $4.2m, staff related costs of $2.1m and marketing costs of $1.9m.

On a reported basis, selling and distribution costs in the year increased by $50.8m to $467.1m (2016: reported $416.3m).The acquisition of Serena and GWAVA increased selling and distribution costs by $21.7m and $1.4m respectively. Excluding the acquisitions in the year, selling and distribution costs increased by $27.7m to $444.0m (2016: reported $416.3m). This increase in selling and distribution costs includes an increase in exceptional items of $1.1m to $5.5m (2016: reported $4.4m), an increase in the amortization of purchased intangibles of $37.1m to $143.8m (2016: reported $106.7m) primarily offset by a reduction in staff related costs of $6.2m, a reduction in marketing costs of $2.0m and exchange rate differences of $5.2m. Exceptional items are discussed later in this section.

Research and development expenses

On a pro-forma CCY basis, research and development costs decreased by $1.1m to $180.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $181.2m). Excluding exceptional costs of $6.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $5.8m), the resultant costs were $173.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $175.4m) a decrease of $2.1m (1.2%). Research and development costs are equivalent to approximately 13.0% of revenue (2016: pro-forma CCY 13.0%).

On a reported basis, research and development expenses in the year increased by $15.5m to $180.1m (2016: reported $164.6m). The acquisition of Serena and GWAVA increased research and development costs by $17.3m and $1.1m respectively. Excluding acquisitions in the year research and development expenses decreased by $2.9m to $161.7m (2016: reported $164.6m). The decrease related to a reduction in staff related costs of $8.6m and exchange rate differences $2.8m offset by an increase in exceptional items of $5.5m to $6.8m (2016: reported $1.3m) and a decrease in the capitalization of product development costs of $3.2m to $27.7m (2016: $30.9m). Exceptional items are discussed later in this section.

At 30 April 2017 the net book value of capitalized product development costs on the consolidated statement of financial position was $49.1m (2016: $43.2m). The impact of net capitalization of internal product development costs was $5.3m (2016: net amortization pro-forma CCY $11.4m).

Administrative expenses

On a pro-forma CCY basis, administrative expenses increased by $62.6m to $202.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY $140.3m). Excluding share based compensation of $34.5m (2016: pro-forma CCY $30.2m), exceptional costs of $82.0m (2016: pro-forma CCY $12.5m) and an exchange gain of $4.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY gain of $3.3m), administrative expenses decreased by $9.6m (9.5%) to $91.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $100.9m). The decrease has arisen mostly from a reduction in staff related costs of $8.5m.

Share based compensation was $34.5m (2016: pro-forma CCY $30.2m), being ASG costs of $13.6m (2016: pro-forma CCY $10.4m), LTIP costs of $19.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $18.9m) and Sharesave Scheme costs of $1.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $0.9m).

On a reported basis, administrative expenses in the year increased by $63.9m to $202.9m (2016: reported $139.0m). The acquisition of Serena and GWAVA increased administrative expenses by $10.4m and $2.2m respectively. Exceptional items included in administrative expenses increased $61.9m to $82.0m (2016: reported $20.1m), share-based payments increased by $5.7m to $34.5m (2016: reported $28.8m) and exchange gains increased by $2.0m to $4.9m (2016: reported $2.9m). Excluding acquisitions in the year, exceptional items, share-based payments and exchange gains, administrative expenses decreased by $14.3m to $78.7m (2016: reported $93.0m). The decrease relates primarily to a reduction in staff related costs of $12.2m. Exceptional items are discussed later in this section.

Amortization of intangibles for the year was $236.4m (2016: reported $203.3m). This growth is as a result of the acquisition of Serena and GWAVA during the year.

Exceptional items

Exceptional items in the year were $97.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $24.9m, reported $27.9m) including:

1 unaudited

On a reported basis exceptional items increased by $69.4m, or 248.7% to $97.3m in the year ended 30 April 2017 (2016: reported $27.9m). The increase was as a result of an increase in pre-acquisition costs of $52.4m relating to the proposed combination with HPE Software, an increase in integration costs of $4.1m in bringing acquired businesses together with the heritage Micro Focus business, an increase in severance costs of $8.3m primarily related to the Serena acquisition, an increase in acquisition costs of $2.1m, the non-recurrence of the $3.0m royalty provision release, offset by a decrease in property costs of $0.5m.

The pre-acquisition costs relate to the acquisition of HPE Software which was announced in September 2016 and is currently expected to complete on 1 September 2017. These costs relate to accounting, legal and commercial due diligence work, legal work on the various agreements, professional advisors fees and pre-integration costs relating to activities in readiness for the HPE Software acquisition across all functions of the existing Micro Focus business.

The integration costs relate to work done in bringing together the base Micro Focus, TAG, Serena and GWAVA organizations into one organization.

The acquisition costs relate to due diligence work, legal work on the acquisition agreements and professional advisors fees on the acquisition of Serena and GWAVA.

Currency impact

During the year to 30 April 2017, 62.4% of our revenues were contracted in US dollars, 21.2% in Euros, 4.5% in Sterling, 3.6% in Yen and 8.3% in other currencies. In comparison, 50.7% of our costs are US dollar denominated, 12.2% in Sterling, 19.6% in Euros, 1.7% in Yen and 15.8% in other currencies.

This weighting of revenue and costs means that if the US$: Euro or US$: Yen exchange rates move during the year, the revenue impact is greater than the cost impact, whilst if US$: Sterling rate moves during the year the cost impact exceeds the revenue impact. Consequently, actual US$ EBITDA can be impacted by significant movements in US$ to Euro, Yen and Sterling exchange rates.

The currency movement for the US dollar against Sterling and Euro was a strengthening of 13.9% and 1.5% respectively and the Yen weakened by 10.1% when looking at the average exchange rates in the year ended 30 April 2017 compared to those in the year ended 30 April 2016. In order to provide CCY comparatives, we have restated the pro-forma results of the Group for the 12 months ended 30 April 2016 at the same average exchange rates as those used in reported results for the year ended 30 April 2017.

Intercompany loan arrangements within the Group are typically denominated in the local currency of the overseas affiliate. Consequently, any movement in the respective local currency and US$ will have an impact on the converted US$ value of the loans. This foreign exchange movement is taken to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income. The Group's UK Corporation Tax liability is denominated in Sterling and any movement of the US$: Sterling rate will give rise to a foreign exchange gain or loss which is also taken to the consolidated statement of comprehensive income. The foreign exchange gain for the period is approximately $4.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY gain of $3.3m).

Adjusted Operating Costs and Total Operating Costs

Adjusted Operating Costs were $742.6m (2016: pro-forma CCY $776.2m) a fall of $33.6m. The reduction in Adjusted Operating Costs arose mostly from a reduction in staff related costs of $23.9m. Total Operating costs were $1,087.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $1,014.9m) an increase of $72.4m.

Adjusted EBITDA and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA in the year increased by $21.2m to $651.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $629.9m).

Underlying Adjusted EBITDA in the year increased by $25.6m to $640.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY $615.3m) at a margin of 46.4% (2016: pro-forma CCY 44.2%). The increase in Underlying Adjusted EBITDA is larger than the increase in Adjusted EBITDA as Adjusted EBITDA does not include the impact of net capitalization of product development costs and foreign exchange gains or losses.

1 unaudited

Both revenue and EBITDA in the year ended 30 April 2017 have been reduced by the unwinding of the fair value deferred revenue haircut of $10.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $16.6m reported $16.6m) that was applied as part of the acquisitions of TAG, Serena and GWAVA.

Reconciliation of pro-forma CCY Adjusted EBITDA and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA to reported Adjusted EBITDA and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA for the year ended 30 April 2016.

Operating profit

Operating profit was $293.4m (2016: pro-forma CCY $377.8m). Within the operating profit is $97.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $24.9m) of exceptional costs. Adjusted operating profit was $638.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $616.5m).

Net finance costs

Net finance costs were $95.8m (2016: pro-forma CCY $97.5m) including:

· The amortization of $14.2m of prepaid facility arrangement, original issue discounts and facility fees incurred on the Group's loan facilities (2016: pro-forma CCY $13.9m);

· Loan interest and commitment fees of $81.9m (2016: pro-forma CCY $84.0m);

· Interest on pension liability $0.6m (2016: pro-forma CCY $0.5m);

· Other interest costs of $0.1m (2016: pro-forma CCY $0.1m); offset by

· $1.0m (2016: pro-forma CCY $1.0m) of interest received.

Net finance costs have decreased by $1.7m on a pro-forma CCY basis, mostly due to reduced loan interest and commitment fees ($2.1m) offset by an increase in the amortization of prepaid facility arrangement, original issue discounts and facility fees ($0.2m).

Profit before tax and adjusted profit before tax

Profit before tax for the year ended 30 April 2017 was $196.3m (2016: pro-forma CCY $278.1m). The profit before tax has decreased by $81.8m in the year when compared to the 2016 pro-forma CCY as a result of an increase in exceptional costs of $72.4m, an increase in the amortization of purchased intangibles following the Serena and GWAVA acquisitions of $29.3m, an increase in the share based compensation charge of $4.3m, offset by an improvement in Underlying Adjusted EBITDA margin to 46.4% (2016: pro-forma CCY 44.2%).

Profit before tax increased by $0.9m on a reported basis from $195.4m in the year ended 30 April 2016 to $196.3m for the year ended 30 April 2017.

Adjusted profit before tax was $541.0m (2016: pro-forma CCY $516.8m, reported $434.0m) and the table below shows the reconciliation between profit before tax and adjusted profit before tax:

1 unaudited

Taxation

The tax charge for the period was $38.5m (2016: $32.4m) with the Group's effective tax rate ("ETR") being 19.6% (2016: 16.6%). The ETR on adjusted profit before tax ("Adjusted ETR") was 22.9% (2016: 23.1%) as set out in the following table.

In computing adjusted profit before tax, $344.7m of adjustments have been made for the items shown in the adjusted profit before tax section, of which the associated tax is $85.5m. The adjusted ETR for the year ended 30 April 2017 of 22.9% is consistent with 2016 (23.1%).

The Group is forecasting an Adjusted ETR in the medium-term, including HPE Software, of approximately 33%. The increase compared to previous medium-term guidance, excluding HPE Software, of 23% to 27% is due primarily to the expected higher proportion of profits subject to higher US tax rates, including US taxes arising on the repatriation of profits from subsidiaries of HPE Software through the US to the UK. The Group is guiding to a cash tax rate on "Cash Profits" (Underlying Adjusted EBITDA less exceptional items, capital expenditure and interest) for the Enlarged Group of 30%.

The forecast Adjusted ETR is subject to various factors including:

· Changes in tax legislation in the main jurisdictions in which the Group operates (for example, discussions are ongoing in relation to potentially significant tax reforms in the US);

· The geographical mix of profits (as mentioned above, the proportion of profits subject to US tax is likely to increase following the HPE Software acquisition);

· The risk of challenge from tax authorities to the allocation of profits across the Group in response to the OECD's Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project;

· Investigations and proposals of the European Commission;

· The tax consequences arising from the UK's exit from the European Union; and

· The resolution of open issues with tax authorities.

The Group's cash taxes paid in the period were $24.6m (2016: $79.3m). Cash tax payments in the current year were lower than in the prior year for the following reasons:

· In 2016 the Group paid $24.5m in respect of an Accelerated Payment Notice issued by HMRC in relation to the historic tax issue disclosed in previous years, which impacts UK tax returns from 2009 until 2015; and

· In 2016 the Group paid $27.2m in respect of forecast US Federal income tax liabilities. Following a recalculation in 2016 of the impact of temporary differences, including the offset of brought forward deferred tax assets, these liabilities were significantly lower than was initially anticipated. Of the resulting overpayment, $8m was refunded in 2017 and the remainder has been offset against current year Federal Tax liabilities.

The forecast cash tax rate is an average over the medium-term. The cash tax rate, when compared to the Adjusted ETR, is likely to fluctuate significantly year-on-year due to various factors, including the following:

· As a general matter, temporary differences often result in substantial shifts of cash tax payments from one period to another;

· In particular, the rate at which recognised deferred tax assets (brought forward tax losses and credits) are utilized is likely to vary significantly year-on-year, with the rate of utilization currently forecast to decrease significantly over the medium-term period;

· The final tax liability for a particular territory and year can often vary significantly from the estimates on which instalment payments have been made, resulting in under and over payments (such as the overpayment mentioned above in the US in 2016); and

· The timing of the settlement of open issues with tax authorities is uncertain and can lead to significant one-off increases in the cash tax rate (such as the one mentioned above in the UK in 2016).

Tax liabilities are recognized when it is considered probable that there will be a future outflow of funds to a taxing authority. Tax provisions are based on management's interpretation of country specific tax law and are measured using the single best estimate of likely outcome approach. Management uses in-house tax experts, professional advisors and previous experience when assessing tax risks. Within current tax liabilities is $49.1m (2016: $27.9m) in respect of provisions for uncertain tax positions, the majority of which relates to the risk of challenge from tax authorities to the geographic allocation of profits across the Group. The Group does not anticipate that there will be any material reversal of these provisions in the next 12 months. Due to the uncertainty associated with such tax items, it is possible that at a future date, on conclusion of open tax matters, the final outcome may vary significantly.

As disclosed previously, the Group benefited from a lower cash rate of tax in recent years as a result of an on-going claim with HMRC in the UK, based on tax legislation, impacting its tax returns for the years ended 30 April 2009 through to 2015. The Group maintains a provision for the potential liability in its consolidated financial statements. The remaining provision at 30 April 2017 is $5.2m (including interest on overdue tax of $3.0m) compared to $5.6m at 30 April 2016. Subsequent to 30 April 2017 the Group paid a further $2.2m to HMRC following the receipt of a further Accelerated Payment Notice. When the tax position is agreed with HMRC, then to the extent that the tax liability is lower than that provided in the consolidated statement of financial position, there would be a positive benefit to the tax charge in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income in the year of settlement and a refund of any amounts paid under the Accelerated Payment Notices in excess of the agreed liability.

Profit after tax

Profit after tax decreased by 3.2% to $157.8m (2016: $163.0m reported).

Goodwill

The largest item on the consolidated statement of financial position is goodwill at $2,828.6m (2016: $2,436.2m) arising from acquisitions made by the Group. In the year goodwill has increased due to the acquisition of Serena ($379.6m) and GWAVA ($12.8m). There was no goodwill increase relating to the acquisitions of OpenATTIC and OpenStack.

Capital structure of the Group

As at 30 April 2017 the market capitalization of the Group was £5,944.0m (2016: £3,496.5m), equivalent to $7,667.8m ($5,104.9m) at an exchange rate of $1.29 to £1 (2016: $1.46 to £1). The net debt of the Group was $1,410.6m (2016: pro-forma including Serena $1,625.0m), all denominated in US$, resulting in an Enterprise Value of $9,078.4m (2016: $6,729.9m). The board believes that this capital structure is appropriate for the Group's requirements.

The debt facilities of the Group were put in place at the time of the acquisition of TAG on 20 November 2014 and totaled $2,000.0m under a credit agreement comprising a $1,275.0m seven year Term Loan B, a $500.0m five year Term Loan C and a $225.0m Revolving Facility (together "the Existing Facilities"). As part of the Serena acquisition additional Revolving Facilities commitments of $150.0m in total were obtained on 2 May 2016 from Barclays, HSBC and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

During the current financial year mandatory repayments of $9.6m of the Term Loan B and $37.5m of the Term Loan C were made together with a draw-down of $180.0m and repayment of $325.0m of the Revolving Facility. As part of the debt raising relating to the HPE Software transaction the Term Loan C was rolled into the Term Loan B-2 facility on 28 April 2017.

At 30 April 2017, $80.0m of the Revolving Facility was drawn together with $1,515.2m of Term Loan B-2 giving gross debt of $1,595.2m drawn.

During the year ended 30 April 2017 the Group renegotiated its debt facilities.

On 1 August 2016 the Company allocated a re-pricing of its senior secured Term Loan B which reduced its ongoing interest payments. The interest rate was reduced from 4.25% to 3.75% and the LIBOR floor was reduced from 1.00% to 0.75%. All other terms of the Group's Credit Facilities remained the same.

The terms of the Micro Focus debt facilities from 1 August 2016 to 28 April 2017 were as follows:

· Syndicated senior secured tranche B term loan facility ("Term Loan B") , with an interest rate of 3.75% above LIBOR (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.75%), repayable at 1.00% per annum, with an original issue discount of 1.00% and a seven year term;

· A syndicated senior secured tranche C term loan facility ("Term Loan C"), with an interest rate of 3.75% above LIBOR (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.75%), repayable at 10.00% per annum, with an original issue discount of 1.5% and a five year term; and

· A senior secured revolving credit facility of $375.0m, ("Revolving Facility"), with an interest rate of 3.50% above LIBOR on amounts drawn (and 0.50% on amounts undrawn) thereunder and an original issue discount of 0.50%.

The Revolving Facility was increased from $225.0m to $375.0m on 2 May 2016 as part of the funding for the Serena acquisition (note 20).

New Facilities

The Company announced on 21 April 2017 the successful syndication of the new credit facilities (the ''New Facilities'') on behalf of both MA FinanceCo, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Micro Focus, and Seattle SpinCo. Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of HPE that will hold HPE Software. At Completion of the HPE Software transaction, currently anticipated to be 1 September 2017, Seattle SpinCo. Inc. will be merged with a wholly owned subsidiary of Micro Focus in the Transaction.

The New Facilities comprise a $500.0m Revolving Credit Facility at LIBOR plus 3.50% (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.00%) placed with a number of financial institutions and $5,000.0m of term loans. The new term loans are priced as follows:

New Facilities drawn as at 30 April 2017:

· In relation to the existing senior secured term loans issued by MA FinanceCo, LLC the lenders in the Term Loan C of $412.5m due November 2019 were offered a cashless roll of their investment into the existing Term Loan B, becoming Term Loan B-2, due November 2021 and this loan was re-priced to LIBOR plus 2.50% (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.00%) and as a result of the cashless rollover increased in size from $1,102.7m to $1,515.2m, effective from 28 April 2017.

New Facilities not drawn as at 30 April 2017 were as follows:

HPE Software Facilities:

· The new $2,600.0m senior secured seven year term loan B issued by Seattle SpinCo. Inc. is priced at LIBOR plus 2.75% (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.00%) with an original issue discount of 0.25%;

Micro Focus Facilities:

· The new $385.0m senior secured seven year term loan B issued by MA FinanceCo LLC is also priced at LIBOR plus 2.75% (subject to a LIBOR floor of 0.00%) with an original issue discount of 0.25%; and

· The new Euro 470.0m (equivalent to approximately $500.0 million) senior secured seven year term loan B issued by MA FinanceCo LLC is priced at EURIBOR plus 3.00% (subject to a EURIBOR floor of 0.00%) with an original issue discount of 0.25%.

The above new facilities are a modification only of the existing facilities and the unamortized prepaid facility arrangement fees and original issue discounts have not been accelerated as a result. The remaining unamortized prepaid facility arrangement fees and original issue discounts will be recognized over the life of the new debt.

As part of the HPE Software transaction, the New Facilities will be used to:

(i) Fund the pre-Completion cash payment by Seattle SpinCo. Inc. to HPE of $2,500.0m (subject to certain adjustments in limited circumstances);

(ii) Fund the Return of Value to Micro Focus' existing Shareholders of $500.0m; and

(iii) Pay transaction costs relating to the acquisition of HPE Software.

The balance will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes.

Micro Focus is already benefitting from the reduced interest rate margin and repayment terms on the existing term loans. The only financial covenant attaching to these facilities relates to the Revolving Facility, which is subject to an aggregate net leverage covenant only in circumstances where more than 35% of the Revolving Facility is outstanding at a fiscal quarter end.

At 30 April 2017, $80.0m of the available Revolving Facility of $375.0m was drawn, representing 21.3%. The facility was less than 35% drawn at 30 April 2017 and therefore no covenant test is applicable.

Total equity

The total equity of the Group is $1,613.5m (2016: $1,593.7m) with a merger reserve of $338.1m (2016: $988.1m).

Cash flow and net debt

The Group's cash generated from operations was $564.8m (2016: $456.1m). This represented a cash conversion ratio when compared to Adjusted EBITDA less exceptional items of 102.0% (2016: 87.9%).

Cash generated from operations increased by $108.7m in the year ended 30 April 2017 primarily due to an increase in adjusted EBITDA of $104.2m.

As at 30 April 2017 the net debt of the Group was $1,410.6m (2016: $1,078.0m) comprising gross debt of $1,595.2m (2016: $1,787.25m), cash balances of $151.0m (2016: $667.2m) and pre-paid loan arrangements fees of $33.6m (2016: $42.0m).

The most significant cash outflows during the year were;

· The payment of the final dividend for the year ended 30 April 2016 of $111.0m;

· An interim dividend of $66.5m;

· Payments of $547.5m in respect of the acquisitions of Serena, GWAVA and OpenATTIC (including $316.7m repayment of bank borrowings on acquisition of Serena and net of $68.2m cash acquired);

· Bank loan net repayments of $192.1m;

· Corporate taxes payments of $24.6m;

· Payment for tangible assets of $11.7m;

· Payment for intangible assets of $31.4m; and

· Interest and loan payments of $87.8m.

Dividend

The board had adopted a dividend policy such that it is two times covered by the adjusted earnings of the Group. In light of the impending HPE Software transaction the directors are paying a second interim dividend for the year of 58.33 cents (2016: final dividend 49.74 cents per share), which represents a 17.3% increase on last year's final dividend and gives a total proposed dividend for the year of 88.06 cents per share (2016: 66.68 cents), an increase of 32.1% compared to last year.

The dividend will be paid in Sterling equivalent to 45.22 pence per share, based on an exchange rate of £1 = $1.29 being the rate applicable on 11 July 2017, the date on which the board resolved to propose the dividend. The dividend will be paid on 25 August 2017 to shareholders on the register at 4 August 2017.

Group risk factors

As with all businesses, the Group is affected by certain risks, not wholly within our control, which could have a material impact on the Group's long-term performance and cause actual results to differ materially from forecast and historic results.

Mike Phillips

Chief Financial Officer

12 July 2017

CEO Review - Micro Focus Product Portfolio

Introduction

The Micro Focus Product Portfolio represents 78.0% of total Group revenue in FY17 (2016: pro-forma CCY 82.0%).

From within the Micro Focus Product Portfolio we also manage, for the Group overall, the corporate support functions of HR, IT, Facilities, Finance, Legal and the Project Management Office ("PMO") for acquisitions and integration. In addition we manage the delivery of a shared service for other elements of support to the SUSE portfolio enabling SUSE to directly control what they need to execute with speed and flexibility whilst leveraging the larger Group where effective as SUSE builds scale. During FY17 this shared service approach was phased out to further enable the SUSE team to execute autonomously such that in FY18 only the corporate support functions are shared with all other resources dedicated to either SUSE or Micro Focus. Wherever practical the corporate support functions staff are dedicated to product portfolios, including SUSE, in order to provide the additional benefit of specialization whilst leveraging the scale of the shared function.

Progress in FY17

During 2017 our main priority has been completing the integration of the different businesses into a more coherent whole, focused on consistent and sustained financial performance and the delivery of innovation that matters to customers - what we call customer centered innovation. This means helping customers solve the real world challenges they face today as they wrestle with balancing the ever increasing requirements for I.T. to deliver new capabilities and support new business models with the demands of securing and running day to day operations. We achieve this through the rigorous application of our FOUR-BOX MODEL which has at its core direct engagement with customers to enable highly targeted product development and delivery.

Highlights include:

· Our focus on delivering customer centered innovation continued to gather momentum:

o Delivered 185 product releases or significant enhancements in FY17 with each sub-portfolio improving the levels of customer engagement and cadence of product delivery;

o Integration of Serena and acquisition and integration of GWAVA completed on time and now executing as integral parts of the Micro Focus portfolio, adding further depth and new capabilities within Development & ITOM and C&N respectively; and

o Removed dependency on third party intellectual property in key strategic elements of our IAS portfolio.

· Integration of the business into a coherent whole is now broadly complete as evidenced by the progress on removing sub-branding, completely redesigning our websites, transitioning to a geographic Go-to-Market ("GTM") model globally and creating an integrated approach to product development and management. The remaining focus area is on IT systems, where our stated goal of driving standardization will take longer to deliver than originally anticipated. As a result of the planned merger with HPE Software we have decided to implement the new set of systems being built for HPE Software for the Group as a whole. This will enable more effective integration of the existing Group with HPE Software and the creation of a more flexible platform from which to execute our strategy but it remains a very significant undertaking.

· Financial performance in the year was in line with expectations, with progress in Maintenance Fee Revenue being somewhat offset by performance in Licence Fee Revenue where the loss to a competitor of an entire sales team and management structure caused three to five months of disruption which impacted our Host Connectivity business principally.

Revenue for the year ended 30 April 2017 by product portfolio compared to pro-forma CCY and reported revenue for the year ended 30 April 2016 is shown in the table below:

1 unaudited

Revenue for the Micro Focus Product Portfolio declined by 5.7% on a pro-forma CCY basis.

Licence revenue

Licence revenue declined by 7.4% (2016: 4.8%) on a pro-forma CCY basis. There was year-on-year Licence revenue growth in CDMS and Collaboration & Networking offset by declines in the other sub-portfolios.

Maintenance revenue

Maintenance revenues declined by 4.5% (2016: 6.1%) on a pro-forma CCY basis. This was primarily in Development & ITOM Tools and Collaboration & Networking. The fair value deferred revenue haircut reduced maintenance by $6.9m (2016: $10.2m). Excluding this, underlying maintenance revenues fell by 4.9% (2016: 6.2%).

Consultancy revenue

Consultancy revenues declined by 12.0% (2016: 15.2%) on a pro-forma CCY basis as we completed the implementation of the established Micro Focus policy of focusing only on consulting business that supports our licence business.

CDMS revenues were $265.2m; a growth of 2.8% on a pro-forma CCY basis compared with the year to 30 April 2016. This portfolio continues to show annual revenue growth underpinned by Visual COBOL and Enterprise Developer which highlights the continuing value customers derive from our CDMS products in support of their mission critical applications. Licence revenues grew by 1.7% ($1.8m), Maintenance revenues grew by 3.2% ($4.7m) and Consulting revenues grew by 8.0% ($0.7m).

Host Connectivity revenues declined by 11.0% ($21.6m) in the year on a pro-forma CCY basis. Licence revenues declined by 22.2% ($19.8m) mostly as a result of the loss to a competitor of an entire sales team and management structure. Maintenance revenues declined marginally by 0.8% ($0.8m) and there was a decline in Consulting revenues of 35.7% ($1.0m).

Identity, Access & Security revenues declined by 3.4% ($7.3m) in the year on a pro-forma CCY basis. Licence revenues declined by 6.0% on pro-forma CCY basis due to a lack of large scale projects in customers which is an area of real strength for our products and increased competition in this market from niche players for the smaller more point solutions. We will continue to drive for growth in this area but expect that this will take time to be delivered. Maintenance revenues declined by 0.4% ($0.6m).

Development & IT Operations Management Tools revenues which now include Serena, were $285.2m; a 9.7% ($30.6m) decline on pro-forma CCY basis. $20.0m of the decline was in Maintenance revenues which declined by 8.5% compared with 11.3% in the prior year. Licence revenues declined in the period by $9.0m partly due to lower sales of our Serena products which had a number of large licence sales in the prior year. Consulting revenues declined by 10.3% ($1.6m).

Collaboration & Networking revenues which now include GWAVA were $144.5m, a decline of 8.1% ($12.7m) on pro-forma CCY basis. Licence revenue grew by 23.2% ($5.5m). Maintenance revenue declined by 13.4% ($17.1m) in the period compared with 15.8% in the prior year.

Regional Revenue Performance

1 unaudited

North America started the year promisingly but had a disappointing third quarter which resulted in year-on-year revenue decline of 5.7% (2016: 6.4% decline) for the full year. The Federal business performed very well and CDMS execution improved throughout the year to deliver year-on-year growth within which Mainframe Solutions won exciting new customers and projects. Host Connectivity was down significantly mostly due to disruption and the impact of losing an entire sales team and management structure to a competitor causing both performance and pipeline development issues.

International had a challenging year with revenue decline year on year of 6.1% (2016: 4.6% decline). This region like in North America experienced challenges in the Host Connectivity and IAS markets. CDMS was broadly flat. France performed well and Germany and Nordics improved significantly in the second half but this was not enough to make up for weaknesses in the other territories.

Asia Pacific & Japan saw a 4.0% year on year revenue decline (2016: 10.6% decline). Licence revenues were marginally ahead of last year and maintenance revenues were in line with trend. Strength in Japan and Australia was offset by weakness in India & Asia. The Australia business was rebuilt to ensure that the correct teams were in place to execute consistently and improve the overall capabilities locally and these changes started to deliver improvements from very early in FY17. There were some excellent wins in IAS that demonstrate what can be delivered when skill and execution levels are maintained.

Adjusted operating profit and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA

The table below shows the Adjusted Operating Profit for the portfolio together with a comparison to the pro-forma CCY and reported figures for the year ended 30 April 2016:

1 unaudited

The directly managed costs are those costs specifically managed by the CEO of the Micro Focus Product Portfolio. In the year ended 30 April 2017 some of the management of the Asia Pacific and Japan ("APJ") sales organization moved under the direct management of SUSE. All the Group central support costs are managed by the Micro Focus portfolio group and the allocation of these costs to SUSE is based on an appropriate methodology. In the year ended 30 April 2018, SUSE will manage directly all their own consulting services and maintenance renewals activities.

The adjusted operating profit was $539.4m, delivering a margin of 50.1% which compares with the margin in the pro-forma CCY numbers for the year ended 30 April 2016 of 47.0%. The increase in margin arises because of the continuing actions taken in managing costs.

The table below shows the reconciliation between Adjusted Operating Profit and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA with a comparative of the pro-forma CCY and reported figures for the year ended 30 April 2016:

1 unaudited

The Underlying Adjusted EBITDA improved by $8.1m in the year on a pro-forma CCY basis primarily due to the staff related cost actions taken during the year.

Outlook

We have achieved a great deal over the last 12 months and enter the new financial year with stronger foundations than a year ago. We continue to focus on improving the way in which we operate to maximise the efficiency of the organization.

The Group has undergone huge change in FY16 and FY17 but the one constant has been clarity of strategy and the associated focus on aligning operational execution to the delivery of that strategy. Looking forward to FY18 this focus will continue with our key priorities being:

· Delivery of our financial plan;

· Continuing to operationalize the FOUR-BOX MODEL to better align resources to optimize the performance of each sub-portfolio; and

· Planning for and subsequent integration with HPE Software following Completion of the transaction.

Stephen Murdoch

Chief Executive Officer

Micro Focus

12 July 2017

CEO Review - SUSE Product Portfolio

Introduction

The SUSE product portfolio represented 22.0% of the total Group revenue in FY17 (2016: pro-forma CCY revenue 18.0%).

SUSE has continued with the mandate to deliver "accelerated, sustainable and profitable revenue growth" and has continued to invest in the business to support this vision. FY17 has been another successful year for SUSE with growth in revenue, Annual Contract Value ("ACV"), Total Contract Value ("TCV") and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA.

SUSE created additional capacity with the objective of sustainable profitable growth, by expanding the SUSE headcount across all of the key disciplines and SUSE also completed two technology led acquisitions during the fiscal year. Closer alignment of critical support functions continued during the year, as we aligned SUSE Services and SUSE Renewals to have dedicated leaders reporting into SUSE Sales leadership. In FY17, we continued to strengthen our partner eco system, with continued investment in broadening and deepening the partnership with Alliances, OEM, two tier distributors, value add resellers, cloud service providers and system integrators. We continue with our concerted effort to broaden the ISV partnership and accredit SUSE offerings on critical and relevant business applications. SUSE continues to rely on sustained growing contribution from these strategic partnerships for its overall success.

Technology acquisitions during the year:

During the year, SUSE acquired OpenStack IaaS and Cloud Foundry based PaaS technology from HPE together with a workforce of 105 Engineers. This will strengthen SUSE's existing OpenStack Cloud (IaaS) offering and also SUSE's Cloud Foundry PaaS offering when brought to market. The acquisition also enables SUSE to broaden its Original Equipment Maintenance ("OEM") partnership with HPE to now include SUSE's OpenStack Infrastructure as a Service ("IaaS"), Enterprise Linux and Software Defined Storage solutions as well as fast track provision of more comprehensive offerings in the OpenStack IaaS and Cloud Foundry Platform as a Service ("PaaS") space to all of its IHVs and alliance partners.

SUSE also acquired distributed storage management technology from OpenATTIC together with eight Engineers, which was a group within IT Novum GmBH, a German registered company. This will enable SUSE to strengthen SUSE Enterprise Storage and its open source, software defined distributed storage offering by adding advanced storage management capabilities to the solution.

We continued to extend SUSE's presence and contribution in key Open Source projects and relevant industry groups both in support of strengthening our contribution to Open Source innovation and development efforts as well as in support of our partner and enterprise customer relationships.

SUSE - Key Financial Metrics

SUSE provides technical support together with rights to updates, patches and security fixes for its Open Source solutions on a subscription basis with revenues being recognised rateably over the period of the contract. The key metrics are Revenue, TCV and ACV of the TCV. The ACV represents the value of the first 12 months of each contract reported as TCV.

RevenueThe table below provides a breakdown of the revenue for the year and a comparison to FY16 on a pro-forma CCY basis and as reported.

SUSE Product Portfolio

1 unaudited

The SUSE Product Portfolio revenue increased by 21.2% to $303.4m compared with the pro-forma CCY revenues for FY16 of $250.4m, with the Subscription revenue increasing by 21.7% to $298.7m (2016: pro-forma CCY $245.5m). The Subscription revenue is net of the fair value deferred revenue haircut of $3.2m (2016: $6.4m). Prior to this adjustment Subscription revenue grew by 19.8%.

Regional revenue performance

1 unaudited

International and Asia Pacific & Japan regions have shown strong growth in revenue of 28.0% and 28.9% respectively. Growth in these regions was derived across all routes to market together with securing new business with large enterprise accounts. We are pleased to note that the change to specializing and aligning the field sales and marketing resources to SUSE in the Asia Pacific & Japan has enabled setting the foundation for sustained profitable revenue growth.

Revenue growth in North America was lower than expected, with some of the larger transactions not closing within the fiscal year as expected. We expect to see continuing growth in FY18.

TCV and ACV

TCV represents the gross billings for the year of $339.1m, an increase of 11.6% from the pro-forma CCY for FY16 of $303.8m. The weighted average contract duration marginally reduced to 28 months in FY17 from 29 months in FY16. The 'in fiscal year yield' from TCV to revenue remained broadly the same at 34% in FY17 as it was in FY16. 'In fiscal year yield' represents the proportion of TCV generated in the fiscal year that can be recognized as Subscription Fee Revenue ("SFR") in the same fiscal year. As the weighted average contract duration reduces, we would generally expect to get a higher 'in fiscal year yield'. Net new subscription TCV increased by 12.4% year-on-year and renewal subscriptions TCV grew by 10.4% year-on-year. Net new subscription contracts are derived from sale of subscriptions to new logo customers and existing customers expanding footprint of existing product portfolio or subscribing to new product solutions.

ACV measures the first 12 months duration equivalent of TCV. ACV grew to $220.1m, an increase of 15.7% from the pro-forma CCY for FY16 of $190.3m. ACV removes the impact of multi-year TCV and is a cleaner KPI on the performance of the business. Where subscription term is less than 12 months, all of the subscription TCV billing is included in the ACV measure.

Regional TCV performance

1 unaudited

Regional ACV performance

1 unaudited

North America had below expected performance on TCV and ACV, declining by 14.6% and 4.8% respectively. Timing of some of the larger enterprise multi-year renewals together with deferral of some of the larger enterprise deals contributed to this decline.

International achieved strong TCV and ACV growth at 33.8% and 31.9% respectively. Good solid performance across all countries in the region together with closing of some large enterprise deals contributed to this outstanding growth.

Asia Pacific & Japan had very strong performance in TCV and ACV, growing by 31.1% and 37.6% respectively. We continue to have strong performance in China and Japan, and are also continuing to win new accounts in some of the other key markets in the region. The region continues to get good traction and growing revenue streams on local OEM relationships and also by leveraging the global agreements we have in place with key independent hardware vendors and cloud service providers.

ACV contribution by route to market

1 unaudited

Direct represents customers that have a master licence agreement with SUSE and subscribe directly with SUSE or via authorized fulfillment partners.

Indirect represents customers that subscribe via the SUSE Value Added Reseller network and predominantly through a two tier distribution model.

Global Service Partners represents primarily Independent Hardware Vendors who sell SUSE subscriptions alongside the sale of their respective hardware and subscriptions generated from cloud service providers.

OEM (Embedded Systems) represents entities that embed SUSE subscriptions within the sale of their respective specialized appliance offerings.

We continue to see significant growth in Direct, Indirect and Global Service Partners routes to market, growing by 14.0%, 20.5% and 13.6% respectively.

We also see a trend of customers, who purchased subscriptions at the outset direct and through Value Added Resellers, subsequently subscribing through Global Service Partners. We continue to see strength in the Value Added Reseller network, where we have seen significant growth in ACV during the fiscal year.

OEM (Embedded Systems) transactions tend to be large, custom, specialized and binary in nature, and thus year on year fluctuations in ACV generated are to be expected.

The table below shows the percentage share of ACV by the different routes to market in FY17 compared to FY16 pro-forma CCY.

1 unaudited

In aggregate the ACV mix by route to market remains stable in the year ended 30 April 2017 compared to the year ended 30 April 2016 as we saw homogenous contribution to SUSE's growth from the various routes to market.

SUSE Adjusted Operating Profit and Adjusted EBITDA

The table below shows the Adjusted Operating Profit for the SUSE Product Portfolio and compares it against the pro-forma CCY numbers for FY16:

1 unaudited

SUSE Adjusted Operating Profit for the year was $98.7m at a profit margin of 32.5%. This is compared to the year ended 30 April 2016 pro-forma CCY Adjusted Operating Profit of $79.9m, which is an increase of $18.8m (23.5%). Profit margin improved to 32.5%, an increase of 0.6% (2016: 31.9%). We have seen a significant increase in directly managed costs in SUSE that is consistent with the continuation of investments being made to deliver the SUSE growth charter. Reduction in allocation of centrally managed costs is a combination of Asia Pacific & Japan moving to directly managed costs from allocated costs in FY16 together with some synergy benefits and efficiencies driving reduced allocation of costs for centrally managed functions.

The table below shows the reconciliation between Adjusted Operating Profit and Underlying Adjusted EBITDA for SUSE:

1 unaudited

Deferred revenue

We continue to have year on year steady growth in the deferred revenue balance. At 30 April 2017 SUSE's total deferred revenue balance was $374.3m (2016: $326.8m), an increase of $47.5m (14.5%) year-on-year. 56.4% of this increase in deferred revenue balance is recognizable revenue in the next 12 months and 82.6% recognizable in 24 months.

Headcount

At the end of April 2016, direct headcount in SUSE was 641 increasing to 936 by 30 April 2017, a net increase of 295 heads (46.0%) in the fiscal year, which includes the additional heads joining from the OpenATTIC acquisition in November 2016 and from the acquisition of OpenStack and Cloud Foundry assets in March 2017. The increased investment in direct headcount is primarily in Engineering, Product Management, Sales, Marketing, Product Marketing and Alliances to address the opportunity we see in the market for SUSE's existing offerings together with new opportunities in OpenStack IaaS, Software Defined Distributed Storage based on Ceph technology and with public cloud service providers.

In addition to the direct headcount, the SUSE portfolio received in the year ended 30 April 2017 support from SUSE dedicated employees, who are organizationally aligned in the shared service functions of the Group. Most prominently in Renewal Sales, Consulting, Customer Care, Sales Operations and other corporate operations functions. These add up to approximately 201 full-time equivalents ("FTEs"), which brings the total SUSE dedicated headcount supporting the SUSE business and customers to approximately 1,137 FTEs at the end of April 2017.

Outlook "Sustainable, Profitable Revenue Growth"

For FY18 SUSE will focus on the successful execution of SUSE's mandate for sustainable, profitable revenue growth. The objective is to grow revenue ahead of growth rates for relevant markets.

Nils Brauckmann

Chief Executive Officer

SUSE

12 July 2017

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

for the year ended 30 April 2017