Financial review
Underlying costs
Non-staff costs
Table 5 – Total underlying costs movement FY23 to FY24 (£m)
Total underlying costs were broadly flat on last year, increasing marginally by 0.7% to £94.2 million in FY24 (FY23: £93.5 million). Excluding the full-year impact of the Integrity and Adroit businesses acquired part way through the prior year, underlying costs reduced by £0.4 million.
Non-staff costs amounted to £38.5 million, broadly flat on last year, a reflection of management’s continued cost discipline. The Group continued to incur generic inflationary increases on the cost base, in addition to an increase in legal and professional fees to assist with the review of the Group’s targeted operating model and potential M&A opportunities. Net finance income The Group’s net finance income increased from £0.9 million to £2.9 million in FY24 as the Group attracted higher interest rates on its corporate cash balances.
£(0.4)m
1.1
94.2
93.5
0.3
0.7
The key movements are set out in the bridge chart per Table 5 and explained below.
1.4
(2.0)
(2.0)
Staff costs Total staff costs increased by £2.5 million to £58.6 million. Of this, £1.4 million was driven by the full-year impact of the two acquired businesses last year. Excluding acquired costs, staff costs increased by £1.1 million, from £54.5 million to £55.6 million. Excluding the full-year impact of acquisitions, fixed staff costs decreased by £0.3 million. This was contributed by the organisational restructure the Group carried out in October 2023 where opportunities to streamline and remove duplication from core processes were identified with roles being made redundant as a result. This saving was offset by inflationary pay rises, the impact of net joiners and further investment in staff training and development. Variable staff costs increased from £10.9 million to £12.8 million driven by the increase in pre-variable pay profit. Within this, the share-based payments charge was down £0.3 million on the prior year due to lapses recognised in FY24 as a result of leavers, and a reduction in the Group’s share price impacting the associated employer national insurance contributions.
1.2
Profit before tax Combined, the above gave rise to an
underlying profit before tax for the year of £34.1 million, an increase of 12.5% on the prior year (FY23: £30.3 million) and resulting in a profit margin of 26.6%, up by 2.1 points on last year’s margin of 24.5%. The Group’s statutory profit before tax was £11.6 million, a reduction from last year (FY23: £22.2 million), contributed by the impairment charge recognised at 31 December 2023 in relation to the goodwill held in respect of the International business. A breakdown of the underlying adjustments together with an explanation of each is included on page 36.
34 Brooks Macdonald Group plc Annual Report and Accounts 2024
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