Oxford and Cambridge combined surplus hits £1.7 billion

The universities of Oxford and Cambridge have both reported significant surpluses, as the gradual release of UK sector accounts suggests that financial pressures are not being felt equally across the country.

Despite the “challenging economic and financial conditions” that are adding pressure on institutions across the sector, Oxford’s report said the institution had delivered another “robust financial performance” in 2023-24.

The top-ranked university reported a surplus for the year of a little over £1 billion across its group, which was up from £169.5 million the year before.

Its income for the year was £869.9 million higher as a result of a £245.9 million gain on investments and the impact of a number of exceptional and one-off items, including £527.4 million from the reversal of pension provisions and £24.6 million from the final royalty income from the sale of the Oxford AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine in developed markets.

The institution also benefited from £120 million in donations and endowments, including those from the Uehiro Foundation, Mastercard Foundation and Ineos Group. Meanwhile, a fall in Oxford University Press income in the UK, Europe and North America was offset by growth in China, which meant that it generated slightly more money than the year before, at £837.9 million.

Oxford’s income from tuition fees and education contracts rose by £46.8 million, mainly thanks to growth in overseas student fees.

This accounts for just 18 per cent of the university’s total income because its diverse income streams – including research funding, publishing income, tuition fees and education contracts and investment returns – “ensure financial resilience”.

However, Oxford did record a net cash outflow from operating activities of £58.6 million. This is a figure that seeks to strip away the effects of financing and other items and is seen as a key metric to determine how much cash a university is generating from its core business activities.

The institution said it was caused primarily by significant working capital movements, including an increase in research grant debtors of £25 million, and £30 million caused by the timing of invoice issuances.

With a net cash outflow from operating activities after taxation of £58.3 million, Cambridge’s accounts also show that its “significantly adverse” figure was largely related to working capital. It said a significant driver was the operating cost base of the academic university rising significantly faster than operating income.

However, the group reported an overall surplus for the year of £726.1 million – up from £198.9 million in 2022-23. It attributed this rise to changes in pension schemes and net gains on investments of £346.4 million.

The largest source of income for the group overall comes from revenues from examination, assessment and publishing services, which totalled over £1 billion in 2023-24.

Meanwhile, its research income increased by 2 per cent to £583.3 million – its second largest source of income. And tuition fee income grew by 6 per cent as a result of a rise in income from international students.

Deborah Prentice earned a total remuneration package of £577,000 for her first full year as vice-chancellor – including a base salary of £409,000.

Professor Prentice also received £42,486 in relation to relocation expenses, £29,177 in accommodation, utilities and property taxes, and personal travel costs of £22,564.

Few institutions that have published their accounts so far have reported deficits for last year, with other leading universities also registering massive surpluses – including UCL (£597.5 million), the University of Manchester (£356.9 million) and King’s College London (£353 million).

patrick.jack@timeshighereducation.com