increased by
£14.2m to
£238.9m
were some non-recurring charges,
again including restructuring costs
in both Echo and SSI Services. Group
EBITDA amounted to £78.0m (2014:
£80.2m).
Group finance charges (net of interest
receivable) reduced significantly
to £10.1m (2014: £12.4) in the year
mainly representing the full year
impact of the refinancing of bank
debt in 2013/14 at lower interest
rates. Overall, profit before tax
increased from £35.1m to £36.0m.
Tax
The Group’s current tax charge
increased by £0.7m to £4.9m, partly
reflecting higher Group pre-tax
profits. The total corporation tax
charge for the year increased to
£8.3m (2014; £1.3m) largely due to
the charge in 2013/14 being reduced
by a non-cash credit to deferred tax
in respect of a reduction to future tax
rates (£3.2m) and also the non-cash
deferred tax impact of a reduction
in discount rates at 31 March 2015
Operating cash flows
£56.4m
£61.0m
£66.0m
2011
2012
2013
compared to the previous year,
which have increased the Group’s
discounted deferred tax liabilities.
Total corporation tax payments in
the year amounted to £3.3m (2014:
£2.4m).
£75.0m
2014
£82.8m
2015
Cash Flow
Group cash flow from operating
activities was well ahead of the target
for the year and increased by £7.8m
to £82.8m (2014: £75.0m) mainly
as a result of favourable working
capital movements compared to the
previous year which is encouraging,
especially given the sales growth
achieved, which required working
29
Annual Report 2015
Group turnover