Our 2023 annual report

"All our colleagues across the organisation have shown tremendous dedication, rising to the challenge of supporting our customers and one another since the cyber security incident which occurred in January 2023. I am proud of their resilience and continued commitment and I want to thank them for their outstanding efforts."

Ian Marchant, NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIR

The Group has emerged from the cyber security incident in good shape and we are well placed as we enter 2024. We have a clear strategy for growth and are investing in the business to deliver this growth. We are starting to see the benefits of the capital investment programme which will grow capacity in our faster growing markets as well as our core markets and the increased investment in our IT estate, accelerating our modernisation plans and improving our resilience.

Looking back at 2023

Our first imperative is the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and I am pleased to report that during 2023 our safety performance improved, reflecting the significant focus on employee safety and wellbeing.

While it has been a challenging year, with the continuing supply chain issues, inflation on input costs and challenges in labour supply, we have seen the benefits of our positioning in attractive, high-growth markets, our leading, differentiated market positions and our diverse, geographic footprint. 

We delivered organic revenue growth in 2023, driven by strong growth in our faster growing markets and more moderate growth in the core markets. Operating margins declined, reflecting the impact of the cyber security incident and the slower end market demand.

Following the cyber security incident, our teams worked quickly to compartmentalise the network and shut down our systems to limit the damage and minimise the impact on operations. Despite their efforts, there was considerable damage to networks and systems. Our factories nonetheless operated throughout the disrupted first half and our teams worked closely with our customers to manage their deliveries. Customer demand remained robust during our recovery.

Safety at Morgan

Supporting the executive team, your Board has spent a significant amount of time discussing how safety performance and culture can be improved. These discussions have emphasised a more holistic approach to safety, and this now encompasses greater focus on the wellbeing of our people. My fellow non-executive Directors and I will continue to support the executive team to achieve a position of ‘zero harm’.

The Board in 2023

The Board invited me to take on the role of Chair from Douglas Caster following his decision to stand down, having served nine years on the Board. I would like to thank Douglas on behalf of the Board for his hard work in helping the Group evolve its strategy and growth journey.

The change of Chair comes at an opportune time, with the Group’s strategy pivoting to leveraging the progress made in the Group’s transformation to drive growth. I am confident I can help the Group as it seeks to achieve these growth ambitions and I look forward to working with the Board to lead the Group in the next stage of its journey.

During 2023, the Nomination Committee commenced the search for three new non-Executive Directors to replace existing Directors nearing the end of their nine-year tenure, as part of a phased succession programme. Two Directors will be recruited in 2024 and with a third Director recruited in 2025.