A copy of the 2024 Annual Report (including the notice of Annual General Meeting ("AGM") will be sent to shareholders and will also be available on the Company's website in due course at www.scholiumgroup.com.

The Company's AGM will be held at 10.00am at 94 New Bond Street, London W1S 1SJ on Thursday, 26 September 2024.

David Harland, Chairman of Scholium, noted "the active strategic decisions taken by the Board and  Management accompanied by the ongoing assessment of further strategic opportunities will, I am confident, lead to further progress in the coming year." 

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I am delighted to present my statement and to report that the Group's revenues for the year ended 31 March 2024 increased by 2% to £9.3 million (2023: £9.1 million). The Board's focus on driving revenue in both books and art has been successfully pursued and has resulted in a third successive profitable year, with profits before tax increasing by 30% to £300k (2023: £231k).

The Board is pleased with the continuing turnaround of the business achieved over the last three financial years and remains focused on further enhancing shareholder value through the implementation of strategic changes including developing new revenue channels, broadening our areas of expertise with selective hires, incentivising staff and continuing to search for further opportunities in related areas.

Staff

The Group's operations continue to rely on the hard work and dedication of our small number of employees and I would like to take this opportunity of thanking them for their contribution and effort, during the year.

Current Trading and Prospects

Trading conditions, after a slow start, improved in the year under review, particularly for the final four months and this has continued into the first three months of the current year, which have been profitable, and which is encouraging for the financial year ahead. The utilization of external funding for securing art collections is reflected in the increases in stock as well as borrowings which is anticipated to generate further revenues and profits in the new financial year.

Although the global outlook continues to be challenging, our strategic plans, including our new flagship property in Mayfair, the expansion of staff and the proactive seeking of major collections of books and art, leads us to be cautiously optimistic.

Strategy

I and my Board are certain that there is still significant value that is not fully reflected in these financials which we are focused on quantifying and exploiting in the coming year with, it is anticipated, enhanced shareholder value. The first part of our 'job' which has been to secure the business and stabilize its profitable platform is nearing an end and now the second part, the drive towards that enhanced value, is in progress as is witnessed by the seeking out of collections of books and art made in the year under review and the active plan to widen sales of rare books and art through the selective hire of sector leading experts.

We can never be certain of the continuing effects on our businesses of global events, or the general political and financial destablisation of the world. However, the active strategic decisions taken by the Board and Management, accompanied by the ongoing assessment of further strategic opportunities, will, I am confident, lead to further progress in the coming year.

DAVID HARLAND

Chairman

25 July 2024

This has been another year of achievement but not without its challenges, which I expand on below and I am most thankful for the excellent team with whom I work and who have been so dedicated and proactive over the year resulting in a third consecutive year of increasing annual Group profits.

Overview

Scholium Group has built upon the success of the prior financial year 2022/23 with the highlights being;

•       2% increase in revenue

•       Group profitability increased year-on-year by 30% for a third consecutive profitable year

•       The consolidating of separate locations into our new flagship Bond Street premises.

The Year 2023/24

Despite wars and other alarming events in the year, the market for Books and Art remained encouraging and progressed, particularly in the second half of the year, away from the sluggish activity witnessed in the last three months of the prior financial year and the first months of the year under review. The market turned noticeably better over the last four months, particularly in Art.

We proactively acquired collections of art in the financial year, leveraging external funding which is reflected in the additional stock and borrowing levels. Part of that collection was sold within the year under review, but the major impact will be felt in the year ahead, particularly in the first half.

Overall revenue increased by 2% to £9,266k (2023: £9,060k).

A full calendar year of fairs took place but on a far more selective basis than in the past, as it was determined that we could focus our resources more effectively, which has been borne out by the results.

Taking all this into account, the Group recorded a 30% increase in profit before tax to £300k (2023: £231k).

Looking forward

Encouragingly, the performance of the business in the first quarter of the new financial year continued to be profitable. The active decision to seek out and execute wider opportunities will continue this year with some additional selective hires of new sector experts. Global economic headwinds present challenges but the strategic review undertaken by the Board acted upon as noted sees a greater focus on expanding the business in new specialty areas with recently hired experts, more proactive securing of book and art collections and a more forensic focus on costs.

Our new and exciting premises, in a refurbished flagship location which we moved into in July, an extensive online presence and exhibitions at international trade fairs, all supplemented by hires of some very focused sector specific staff will, I believe, lead to continuing progress in the current year.

Staff

I have a fabulous team around me without whom the positive results for the year could not have been achieved and I thank them for their dedication and hard work throughout the year and I look forward to welcoming our new hires in the coming financial year.

Shareholders

I am delighted with the support and guidance received from my fellow Board members and our major shareholders and look forward to taking the Group to future success.

BERNARD SHAPERO

Group Chief Executive

25 July 2024

Strategic Report

This report provides an overview of the Group's strategy and business model; gives a review of the performance of the operating entities and of the financial position at 31 March 2024 and it sets out the principal risks to which the Group is exposed. In addition, it comments briefly on the future prospects of the business.

Principal Activities & Review of the Business

The Group comprises four legal entities; Scholium Group PLC (the "Company") which is the publicly traded holding company and which incurs the central costs of the group and its three wholly owned subsidiaries, Shapero Rare Books Limited, the only trading entity as detailed below, and two dormant companies, Scholium Trading Limited and Mayfair Philatelic Limited. The four together are referred to as the "Group".

The Group is engaged in the business of dealing in rare books and fine art. The majority of the business transacted is as a dealer - buying, owning and selling items, either on its own or together with third parties who also deal as principals. The Group generates value through its expertise, astute buying and the profitable sale of stock.

Shapero Rare Books is the larger part of the business of the Group. It is a leading international dealer in rare and collectible books and works on paper with special expertise in Natural History, Illustrated, Travel and Exploration and Literature trading under the name of Shapero Rare Books. The business also trades as Shapero Modern in modern and contemporary prints and limited editions by established artists.

Strategy & Key Objectives

The Group's strategy is to:

•      build, organically or by acquisition, a portfolio of rare books and art focused businesses to enable further growth of its revenue and profit streams;

•      attract individuals or teams of specialists in markets complementary to the Group's existing businesses;

•      optimise working capital in existing businesses to provide funds for new business development; and,

•      trade alongside other dealers in high value rare books and art and participate in the acquisition for onward sale of large consignments.

Review of the year from continuing operations

The Group's revenues increased to £9.3m from £9.1m in the prior year as sales in each of the constituent businesses increased. The Group's core businesses were profit-making during both the first and second half of the financial year. Gross profit increased by 30% compared with the prior year ended 31 March 2023, and the margin made on sales rose from 38.1% last year to 39.4% in the year ended 31 March 2024 because of increased activity in the market and the active drive by management to improve such margins.

Total expenses including direct costs, such as art fairs and accompanying marketing costs, and administrative overheads rose 2% to £3,252k (2023: £3,175k).

The Group's profit before tax for the year to 31 March 2024 increased by 30% to £300k (2023: £231k).

An analysis of the Group's profit before tax for the year to 31 March 2024 between the two halves of the financial year is set out in the table below:

*H1 Unaudited figures published November 2023

The value of the Group's stock at 31 March 2024 was £10,955k compared with the prior year's total of £9,812k and Group cash at 31 March 2024 was in net overdraft at £(124)k. Furthermore, the original £250k Covid bank loan, taken down in 2020, was reduced by repayment over the year from £187k to £137k. The Group's overdraft facility of £500k remains in place and from time-to-time, depending on timing differences in significant purchases and onward sales, was drawn during the year. An additional and specific loan facility was taken in the final quarter of the year secured against a specific collection of art works purchased as part of a joint venture agreement with a fellow art dealer. The balance outstanding as at the year-end date was £634k. (2023: £nil) - see note 22.

Key Performance Indicators

The Group is managed by and reports on a few key performance indicators (KPIs). The current principal KPIs are:

•       sales, gross profit, gross margin and profit before tax;

•       stock ageing and turnover; and

•       cash position.

Group Performance

Shapero Rare Books

Shapero Rare Books Limited (SRB) traded profitably through the year ended 31 March 2024 off the back of increased activity in physical as well as on-line sales and a full calendar of trade fairs. The year's sales were £9,266k, 2% above the prior year's sales of £9,060k, and gross profit at £3,648k for the year ended 31 March 2024 was 6% above the prior year total of £3,447k.

Direct costs, including the attendance at fairs, exhibitions, and catalogues, decreased from £815k in the prior year to £778k in the year to 31 March 2024 as a result of the active approach to maximising the benefit from fewer but more productive fairs taken by management. Administrative costs in total increased 4% from £2,360k in the prior year to £2,474k in the year to 31 March 2024. Financial expenses for the year were £63k (2023: £41k).

SRB therefore recorded a profit before tax of £714k compared with the £565k in the prior year.

Central Costs

Central costs, which are incurred by the holding company, Scholium Group PLC, include the Board members as well as those costs associated with the Group's AIM public status. The central costs, before the non-operational accounting charge for the employee option scheme of £32k, were £382k in the year to 31 March 2024, an increase of £48k from the prior year's total of £334k. The inclusion of the costs of the option scheme take the total to £414k. These costs include the cost of managing the Group, its audit, tax and professional fees, financing costs and maintaining the AIM membership for the Company's shares.

Year ended 31 March 2024 (£'000)

Year ended 31 March 2023 (£'000)

\* The revenue for Books includes the small amounts of other income. See Note 5 - Revenue

Dividend

The Board does not propose to declare a dividend for the financial year ended 31 March 2024. (2023:

£Nil).

Alternative accounting presentation

The Board is focused on enhancing shareholder return. It is important therefore for an analysis of the core performance of the Group's trading business to be prepared excluding those costs that are more concerned with the non-trading elements such as the costs of maintaining its public company status and other non-directly related or one-off costs not typically expected to be incurred in a 'normal' year.