A very good year in business behind us.
The annual accounts for the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður for the year 2023 were presented to the town council today. The operating surplus for Sections A and B amounted to 808 million krónur in 2023, compared to 890 million the previous year. The debt ratio of the Hafnarfjörður municipality group continues to fall and stood at 82.1% at the end of 2023.
Annual report for 2023 presented to the town council.
The annual report of the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður for the year 2023 was presented to the town council today, 22 April 2024.. The operating surplus for Sections A and B amounted to 808 million króna in 2023, compared to 890 million the previous year. The operating result before financial items amounted to 3,649 million króna. The operating surplus for Section A amounted to 251 million króna, which is almost the same surplus as the previous year. Net operating cash flow for Sections A and B amounted to 2,635 million króna, 904 million króna over the budget. Operating cash flow accounted for 5.61% of total revenues last year. The debt ratio for the Hafnarfjörður municipality group continues to fall and stood at 82% at the end of 2023.
„The operation of the City of Hafnarfjörður went very well last year, despite challenging conditions for municipal operations. It is pleasing to see that the council's debt ratio continues to fall and is now at a level where the council's financial position has not been better in decades. Operating cash flow was significantly above projections, which strengthens the council's ability to meet its capital expenditure and financial commitments. Alongside a thriving operation, infrastructure investment was significantly increased last year, which will result in more robust services and a better quality of life for residents. Furthermore, the town now benefits from the significant residential and commercial development of recent years in the form of increased property taxes. “At the same time, emphasis has been placed on keeping the burden on residents low, and the proportion of income tax and property taxes to total revenues continues to fall," says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, the mayor.
The debt ratio continued to fall in 2023
Operating revenue from Parts A and B amounted to 47.3 billion króna in 2023, an increase of 5.4 billion year-on-year. Of this, revenue from payroll tax and property tax increased by 3.1 billion króna. As a proportion of total revenues, income tax accounted for 49.81% and property taxes for 8.31%, a decrease on the previous year. Operating expenses were 42.0 billion kroner, an increase of 5.4 billion. Of this, salaries and related expenses amounted to 22.2 billion kroner, an increase of 2.4 billion year-on-year. The proportion of salaries and related expenses to total revenue was approximately 47%. Net interest expense amounted to 2,840 million króna, a decrease of 177 million year-on-year. However, interest costs were króna over the municipality's forecast due to negative price and interest rate developments compared to the original assumptions. The operating result for Sections A and B was a surplus of 808 million króna, which is approximately 382 million króna below budget. Had unforeseen increased pension liabilities not arisen during the year, the operating result would have been considerably above budget. Hafnarfjörður's debt ratio continued to fall during 2023, from 851% to 821%, and is therefore significantly below the 150% debt ratio required by the regulations on financial benchmarks and supervision of municipal finances. The debt ratio fell from 135% at the start of the year to 129%.
74% increase in investments year-on-year
Investments in 2023 amounted to 7.1 billion króna, a 74% increase year-on-year. Total assets at the end of the year were 93.9 billion króna, an increase of 9.3 billion year-on-year. The municipality's total liabilities and obligations amounted to 61.1 billion krónur, an increase of 4.6 billion krónur. Pension liabilities account for almost a third of the municipality's total liabilities and obligations. Own funds amounted to 32.8 billion króna at the end of the year, an increase of 4.6 billion króna over the year. The equity ratio increased from 33.31% to 34.91% during 2023.
The population of Hafnarfjörður was 30,616 on 1 January 2024, according to Statistics Iceland's revised method for estimating the population of Iceland.