A net profit for 2023 once again

Along with four other public research institutes (INRAE, CIRAD, IFREMER and IRD), BRGM acts on behalf of the government under Programme 172 of the Organic Act on Public Accounts (LOLF). BRGM also receives subsidies for public service expenditure (SCSP) under Programme 181, for its activities of “support for public-policy development in particular” and in “post-mining”, as well as for two specific projects (Trackdéchets, RNDTS). Finally, it benefits from an SCSP subsidy under Programme 113 to finance the piezometric network.

At the BRGM Group level

The net consolidated profit for the group stands at €0.7 M in 2023 (compared to €2.6 M in 2022). The contribution of the different entities to this net result is as follows:

• The BRGM EPIC contributed €1.4 M, which corresponds to its net social result of €1.8 M, adjusted to take account of entries for transactions with subsidiaries (mainly write-back for €2 M in dividends received from SAGEOS); 
• BRGM SA’s loss-contribution was -€1.9 M; 
• SAGEOS contributed €0.5 M to the group's result in 2023, which corresponds to its corporate result adjusted for dividends received from its subsidiaries and intra-group provisions; 
• CFG and IRIS INSTRUMENTS contributed respectively +€0.1 M and +€0.8 M; SOLTRACING’s loss-contribution was -€0.1 M.

Salient points of the 2023 financial year are various restructuring operations within the Group.

In the mining sector, NICRON, a company wholly owned by Société Minière de CHESSY (SM CHESSY), itself a wholly owned subsidiary of BRGM SA, was dissolved. SM CHESSY was then recapitalised. These operations were the first step towards SM CHESSY resuming operations in 2024 as part of the programme to update the National Inventory of Mineral Resources (IRM) announced by the President of France in September 2023, for the purpose of boosting mining investment in France. 

On the geothermal side, the search for a new industrial and financial partner for CFG, capable of providing the resources necessary for its development, continued in 2023 and should be finalised in early 2024.  

At the BRGM EPIC level

BRGM posted a net profit of €1.8 M for its 2023 financial year compared with a net profit of €4 M in 2022. The operating result was again positive, amounting to €1.5 M; for the record, the operating result amounted to €1.4 M in 2022. The financial result amounted to €1.1 M, down from €2.5 M in 2022. All these elements led to the payment of a profit-sharing bonus (€2 M) and will allow the Group to contribute to the company savings plan in 2024.

Funds from ordinary activities amounted to €152 M, an increase of 10.8% compared with 2022. At a total of €125 M, non post-mining resources were €13 M higher than in 2022 (+11.6%). As for post-mining resources, they amounted to €29.1 M, an increase of €2.3 M compared to 2022 (+8.7%).

Excluding post-mining activities, the level of SCSP has risen compared with 2022 (+€10.5 M), due in particular to the change in the method of financing the piezometric network (now financed by SCSP from P113) and the DGPR Trackdéchets and RNDTS projects (financed by SCSP from P181); BRGM also received an exceptional non-renewable grant from the Ministry of Research (+€3.4 M from P172) to cover the increase in energy costs and to compensate for the increase in its payroll. The proportion of contracts and agreements (€56.4 M) was up by 4% compared to 2022.

The level of income from contracts relating to the public policy support mission was slightly lower than in 2022, at €29.7 M compared with €30.7 M in 2022, which was a record year. This decrease is artificial, given the change in the way the piezometric network is financed. Excluding the piezometric network effect, production under the public policy support (APP) contract for 2023 would be €33.5 M, which would be a new all-time record. Moreover, income from public research funded by contracts and agreements (€15.3 M) increased by €2.5 M compared with 2022. This was mainly due to the sharp rise in production under European contracts. International production remained stable compared with 2022, at €4.3 M (compared with €3.9 M in 2022). Sales in France grew slightly (from €5.0 M in 2022 to €5.4 M in 2023). 

Income from post-mining business increased, standing at €4.8 M (up €1.4 M compared to 2022). The monitoring activity benefited from an additional SCSP of €0.7 M to partially cover the additional energy costs of the pumping stations. 

Current operating expenses (excluding provisions and reversals) are €10 M higher than in 2022 (+7.2%), at €149.5 M. Excluding "exceptional" items (write-offs of €1 M in 2022), structural external costs increased by €2.2 M compared with 2022. The payroll also increased by €5.3 M compared with 2022, with the wage increase rate for permanent staff (RMPP) rising to 5%.

Net financial income was €1.1 M in 2023, mainly due to integration of the €2 M in dividends from SAGEOS. The Group's income resulted in corporate tax of €0.8 M in 2023.