Worcestershire CCC have announced a loss before taxation of £89,328 for the financial year ending 31 December 2019, compared to a profit before taxation of £124,377 in the previous year.
After taxation, WCCC recorded a statutory loss of £81,810 for the year ending 31 December 2019 compared to a profit of £38,221 for the previous 12-month period.
But the club’s overall debt continues to reduce and dropped by £572,000 in 2019 to £4.3 million.
The core funding from the England and Wales Cricket Board will also increase by 85 per cent in 2020 – and then remain at that figure through to 2024.
Finance Manager & Company Secretary, Sarah Gluyas, explaining the latest club accounts, said: “The financial accounts for the year ending December 2019 are disappointing in many areas, resulting in reporting a loss for the year of £81,810.
“What has made the difference? Our turnover has remained largely static across the business throughout 2019.
“The number of members who took out their membership in 2019 went down by 5 per cent but there is a very small increase (from £408,916 to £414,454) because the price of subscriptions was increased.
“Match receipts is quite significantly down (from £497,785 to £366,259) but that’s very much due to three wash-outs in the Vitality Blast and the final day of the tour game with Australia, although we did have insurance cover for those matches.
“On the commercial side the sponsorship and advertising income was down a little (£459,158 to £433,782) but we didn’t stage any concerts or similar events during the year in question.
“Car park income saw only a small increase (£122,283 to £124,315) and it’s disappointing the revenues from that haven’t bounced back to the income we were earning prior to when the New Road flood roadworks were done in the spring of 2018.
“One positive is with the catering team because, although the income is static (£1,176,899 to £1,179,052) which hasn’t continued to grow as in previous years, close control of their costs means they have reported a substantial increase in the surplus they have made at £155,644.
“We have been able to continue to increase the amount we have spent on cricket in 2019, predominantly on support staff for the cricketers and we’ve been able to increase the medical, psychological and nutritional support that the players receive.
“Another positive is we’ve been able to continue to invest in the facilities here, with £265,000 spent on new equipment and improvements to the ground, and our thanks go to the Supporters’ Association for donations they’ve made for various projects.
“Also thanks to the Ladies Pavilion committee for a donation that meant we could add additional glazing in the Ladies Pavilion.”
Gluyas added: “Our overall financial position shows the level of debt continues to come down by more than half a million again in 2019 to £4.3 million.
“Looking to the future, we now have the details of our funding from the ECB for the next five years so we know we are receiving an increase of 85 per cent in our core funding for 2020 and then it stays at that level until 2024.
“This gives us great financial security in the medium term.
“The ECB have also set up funding for maintenance and improvement grants with the specific aim of improving grounds and making them fit for purpose for the modern era. There is a lot of focus around improving disabled facilities and the spectator experience.
“Thirdly the ECB is putting in place a new £50 million Masterplan Fund from which the First Class Counties can apply for funding for large capital projects. This has opened the door to possibilities we had previously thought out of our reach at this time.”
