173 Annual Report 2024 23. Profit before tax The following items have been included in arriving at profit before tax: Group 2024 2023 $’000 $’000 Audit services paid to: - – Auditor of the Company – Statutory audit 527 508 – Other assurance services 35 45 – Other auditors of subsidiaries 471 417 Non-audit services paid to: – Auditor of the Company 100 50 – Member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited − 203 – Other auditors of subsidiaries 84 230 Loss/(gain) on disposal and write-off of property, plant and equipment 322 (70) Gain on disposal of asset held-for-sale (588) − Depreciation of property, plant and equipment (Note 4) 12,842 11,845 Depreciation of right to use assets (Note 27) 9,905 7,071 Amortisation of intangible assets (Note 7) 4,960 5,020 Writeback of inventories, net (Note 10) (1,048) (373) Allowance for expected credit loss on trade receivables, net (Note 11) 1,588 3,179 Provision for warranties made/(reversed), net (Note 15) 651 (252) Rental expenses for short-term leases 4,821 6,084 Settlement of arbitration# 10,414 − Personnel and related costs comprising: Salaries and bonuses 82,312 74,081 Share-based compensation * 2,427 1,373 Employees’ provident fund 4,804 4,107 Other personnel and related costs 15,576 12,337 Directors’ fees – Directors of the Company 513 496 * Under the performance share plan, the Group awards the performance shares by taking into account the profitability of the year. Accordingly, $2.43 million was recorded under share payment reserve upon achieving the full year target. # Relates to the full and final settlement of all claims asserted by a customer in the arbitration proceedings against Hankin Environmental Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, in relation to delays in the performance of its contracted works in a project. A total of 5,220,004 (2023: 3,193,023) performance shares (“Performance Shares”) were awarded in February 2025 (2023: February 2024) to the Executive Director and key management personnel of the Company (the “Participants”) for their performance in FY2024 (2023: FY2023). Part of the Performance Shares awarded are subject to a moratorium period of 1 to 5 years from the date of award against any disposal or sale and/or other dealings in the shares. The Performance Shares will be released to the Participants via the release of Treasury shares. NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS For the financial year ended 31 December 2024
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