SVP hit by €37m loss over devalued property
The charity’s annual accounts for 2012 show that the chief factor behind the loss was a €34m write-down in value of properties across its country-wide portfolio.
Even before the property write-down is taken into account, the society’s annual accounts shows that it recorded a loss of €3.1m in 2012. This followed the charity recording a surplus of €1.57m in 2011.
The charity recorded the loss as donations from the public and Government decreased while its spend on its activities increased from €78.3m to €81.2m.
The spend included €42.9m on providing assistance to families and individuals; €29.49m on furthering the charity’s objectives; while management, support costs and administration increased from €6.8m to €8.2m.
SVP’s cost of generating funds increased in 2012, going from €755,000 to €990,000.
The figures show that the society received €7m in bequests from deceased people in 2012 — down on the €8.9m received under that heading in 2011.
An SVP spokesman said legacies and bequests are very important to SVP and have accounted for 10% to 11% of income over the last number of years.
The accounts show that the society’s national director, Kieran Murphy, received a salary, including pension, in the range of between €115,000 and €125,000 in 2012.
A spokesman for the charity said yesterday that Mr Murphy’s remuneration “would rank below many CEOs in charities of similar size and range of activities”.
He said that Mr Murphy’s salary includes a pension element and, “in common with other staff, the national director availed of a defined contribution pension scheme to which the society contributes a maximum of 5% of salary”.
The spokesman said: “No bonus was paid as there is no bonus element attached to the national director’s remuneration. No company car is provided and only vouched out-of-pocket expenses were paid in accordance with the society’s strict expenses policy.”
A pay freeze has been in operation across SVP since 2009.
On the €34.3m write-down, the spokesman said: “Tthe decline in the property value is not an issue as the value of the property to the society is in their use rather than their monetary value. The property is used by the society for its charitable work and includes charity shops, hostels for the homeless, day care and & community resource centres, sheltered housing, holiday centres, youth clubs, and national and regional offices.
“The society undertakes a property revaluation every three years on an existing use basis and the downwards property revaluation in 2012 was reflective of the property market then prevailing.”
In spite of the property write-down, the charity’s balance sheet remains in robust health with net assets totalling €164m — which includes cash of €74m.
