Cooper Gay & Co, the UK and Lloyd’s broking division of Cooper Gay Swett & Crawford, made a loss after tax of £381,000 in 2010. This compares with a profit of £739,00 in 2009.
However, the 2009 profit was largely driven by a £4.8m tax credit, which offset the company’s pre-tax loss of £4.1ml.
In 2010, the company returned to pre-tax profitability, with a profit of £2.2m. However, this was wiped out by a £2.6m tax bill, resulting in an after-tax loss.
The return to pre-tax profitability was largely driven by a 9% reduction in operating expenses before exceptional items to £41.9m from £46.1m. The 2010 accounts also lacked exceptional charges, while 2009’s results were hit with a £1.2m exceptional charge relating to the cost of setting up a back-office outsourcing function with Xchanging, which the company announced in August 2008.
“The first full annual effect of the outsourcing project was realised, and combined with a defined strategy to manage existing costs, the effect on the results can clearly be seen,” Cooper Gay said in a Companies House filing.
Turnover, however, remained largely flat, coming in at £43.5m in 2010 compared with £43m in 2009. The company described brokerage growth as “disappointing” in the year, blaming in part continued economic difficulties and the lack of market hardening.
“The company continues to look at all opportunities for growth, both organically and by investing in new opportunities as and when they arise,” the filing said.
The overall income was given a small boost by an increase in “other income” to £616,000 from £222,000.
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