Malta Business Registry registers €8.7 million surplus in ‘rollercoaster’ year

The Malta Business Registry (MBR) registered an operating surplus of €8.7 million for 2023, down from €10.9 million recorded for the previous year.

Expenses increased in 2023 when compared to the previous year, with most segments seeing higher costs, from employee expenses to repairs to IT expenses. Total expenses came to €8.6 million, up from €7.9 million in 2022.

Income – generated from the registration of new companies, foundations, partnerships and associations, the issuing of certified documentation, the publication of notices, and the imposition and collection of penalties – meanwhile decreased to €17.4 million from €18.8 million.

The decline in income and higher expenses led to the decrease in the agency’s operating surplus.

The MBR passes on the majority of its surplus to the Government. In 2023, it allocated €10 million to state coffers. In 2022, the figure was €9 million.

The MBR had 3,282 total new registrations throughout 2023. These included 3,150 new limited companies and investment companies with variable share capital, 42 overseas companies, 74 partnerships en nom collectif, 14 partnerships en commandite, two European companies, and one European economic interest grouping.

A total of 1,521 companies, on the other hand, were placed in voluntary liquidation.

The MBR issued 1,186 final warnings to companies that had failed to pay penalties, and struck off 2,658 companies from the register.

At least some of those companies took issue with their deregistration, with 267 filing objections to their classification as defunct. Moreover, the MBR was itself subject to 56 new court cases throughout 2023. It was also summoned to testify before the Court in no fewer than 639 sittings, to confirm or provide information accordingly.

The entity’s annual report highlights the volume of work it conducts. For example, it processes 35 name reservations daily, issues 40 orders for good standing and other certificates every day, and sees 760 documents uploaded to its portal daily.

Throughout 2023, it also carried out KYC (Know Your Customer) screening on a total of 96,700 individuals. Of these, 27,209 were beneficial owners and directors of new companies, while 69,491 were new involvements in existing companies.

MBR CEO and Registrar Geraldine Spiteri Lucas described 2023 as “a significant year” for the entity where “it blossomed its past foundations while setting new ones.”

In the “rollercoaster ride” of a year, the MBR bolstered its internationalisation strategy, including by hosting the prestigious Corporate Registers Forum 20th General Conference, where it welcomed 45 registers and 200 delegates from across the globe.

The MBR also embarked on a training initiatives, organising several educations and accredited training seminars with the participation of its own employees and guest speakers from the industry.

Most significantly, the MBR launched its new online platform, allowing authorised users to file online and use digital signatures.

2023 also saw the MBR carry out preliminary market consultation about the new central data repository solution that was a major pledge of the Labour Party’s manifesto for the 2022 election.

“By promoting the ‘once only’ principle, standardisation, risk mitigation, and compliance, the repository will eliminate duplicative efforts, leading to significant time and cost efficiencies for both businesses and government agencies,” said Dr Spiteri Lucas.