Annual Report and Accounts 2016–17 | Financial Review
FINANCIAL REVIEW
MR MUIR SANDERSON CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
This year’s results demonstrate Imperial College London’s resilience during difficult times. Financial performance remains robust: surplus before investment gains and asset disposals was £82.2 million and cash from operations was £111.2 million, both around £15 million higher than in the prior year. When investment gains and property sales are included the surplus rises to £118.9 million, highlighting the value derived from the College’s non-core assets. It also reflects the volatility within the results, given that £19.5 million of the additional surplus related to unrealised market gains and £10.8 million came from asset disposals. Income in 2016–17 of £991.2 million was up 2.4% on the prior year, though excluding a one-off £22.9 million overage receipt in the previous year gives a year-on-year increase of 4.8%. Total expenditure rose just 0.8% to £909.0 million but this rises to 3.6% if the change in the pension provision in the previous year is excluded. We would like to think that at least the scale of the latter was exceptional, however ongoing funding challenges with the Universities Superannuation Scheme remain significant. The contribution to the overall income in percentage terms from each of the various sources of funding was broadly similar to the previous year, with income from tuition fees and education contracts rising slightly.
Tuition fee income continues to grow steadily. We are heavily over-subscribed with an average of over seven applicants for every available place. The number of applications for 2016–17 grew at both undergraduate and particularly postgraduate level, with a notable increase in applications from EU and overseas students, underpinned by strong home demand. There was also a further increase in the number of part-time students, following a dip a couple of years ago. The provisional application data at undergraduate level for 2017–18 does not show any particular change in these trends, with the number of applications from the EU continuing to increase despite Brexit. However, we remain cautious, monitoring demand at the individual course level and taking care to only target growth
2016–17 income by source (£ million)
7.9
151.7
62.1
265.1
Tuition fees and education contracts Funding Council grants Research grants and contracts Other income Investment income Donations and endowments
143.1 361.3
09