In a return to profitability in its trading update for the three months ended 31 December 2023 and the 2023 financial year, key highlights include a 44% increase in NFI to £10.5m and an underlying EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation] of about £0.9m, up more than £0.8m. Also, the company increased its profit before tax by about £0.6m to £0.3m and returned to net cash flow positive status in the year.

Kevin Davidson (pictured above), group CEO of Norman Broadbent, said: “Our strategic plan continues to deliver, and I thank the whole team for their outstanding performance. In the two years since we started this journey, and amid challenging market conditions, we have almost doubled NFI, increased profit before tax by over £0.9m, returned to meaningful profitability and become net cashflow positive. This success is attributed to the strength of our team, the quality hires we have made and our continued focus on productivity improvements across the business.

“While the executive search and broader recruitment markets were challenging in 2023, we have bucked the trend by growing the size of our team and still delivered a strong set of financial results. In 2024, we plan to continue to invest and pursue our aggressive growth strategy, whilst remaining profitable and generating positive net cashflows. This will be organically led, leveraging the renewed attractiveness of our brand proposition while exploring synergistic acquisition opportunities as appropriate.

“While being cognisant of the macroeconomic headwinds, the strong momentum established across the business and some easing of inflationary pressures in the economy mean that we are increasingly confident in our ability to overachieve against our previously stated target of £1.25m of EBITDA in 2025.”

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