Over $9 Million Returned To The Community

• ILT has returned more than $9 million to the Invercargill community this year.
• The Group faced challenges due to labour shortages, inflation, and cost-of-living pressures.
• Despite a tax-related deficit, ILT’s financial position remains solid with strong community support.

Group ILT held its Annual General Meeting on 16th September, revealing strong financial results for the year ending 31 March 2024. For the first time in nearly a decade, the organisation distributed over $9 million in grants and donations to the community.

Chief executive Chris Ramsay acknowledged both the milestone and the challenging year. “In what was a tale of two halves, revenues for the year were up a solid 4% to over $111 million. We began the year with strong demand for our services, but faced challenges due to a stubbornly low unemployment rate,” he said. ILT addressed staffing shortages by hiring skilled migrant workers, but soon had to deal with inflation and a growing cost-of-living crisis, which affected demand.

For the year ending 31 March 2024, ILT posted an 11% rise in pre-tax and donations surplus, reaching $6.619 million. Donations for the year amounted to $3.277 million, up by more than 30%. The total donations exceeded $9 million for the first time in 10 years, marking a nearly 9% increase on the previous year.

However, due to a one-off accounting adjustment related to deferred taxation, ILT’s tax expense reached $11.404 million, leading to an after-tax deficit of $7.833 million. Ramsay clarified that the deficit was a result of government legislation changing depreciation rates for commercial buildings, but emphasised that the adjustment would not impact ILT’s underlying profitability or cash flow.

President Paddy O’Brien reassured that ILT remains financially stable despite the challenges. “We have produced a solid financial performance under continued challenging circumstances. Most importantly, we continue to make returns to the community and are incredibly proud to have reached over $9 million back to our stakeholders, the people of Invercargill, this year.”

O’Brien highlighted that these grants have supported various projects, including free swimming lessons for children and a $1 million contribution to the Te Unua Museum of Southland.