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MAFIA TEES
Just $20 a shirt, a steal!
Not often you steal from the Mafia and live to tell the tale...
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BOPRU - on their feet again |
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Written by Jamie Troughton
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Wednesday, 25 February 2009 |
The Bay of Plenty Rugby Union will announce a $190,000 profit this weekend, completing a million-dollar turnaround in the space of a year.
It's a dream result for the union which posted a record loss at last year's annual meeting, and justifies heavy cuts in spending and staffing levels during a dramatic 2008.
BOPRU chief executive Jeremy Curragh has warned the public not to get carried away, however, forecasting further tough times on the horizon.
"It's a good result and a solid result and we're comfortable with it but we're definitely not out of the woods," Curragh said. "The big difference is in 2008, there were a lot of issues we were able to manage and control ourselves, and we spent the last six months of the year sorting those out.
"The issues we face in the next year are a completely different set and it's going to be a real challenge. Sponsorship is tough but we're working hard and it's pleasing the progress we're making."
The overall surplus was boosted by a one-off 'Christmas present' from the NZRU - who gave grants to all provincial unions to offset the finaancial gloom - but significantly without the $169,000 grant, the Bay would still have made a profit.
Just 12 months ago, crippled by the loss of another major sponsor and with the union books in chaos, the BOPRU posted a record loss, since adjusted to $845,000.
A statutory manager was brought in by the NZRU, the majority of the board stepped aside and staffing levels at the union were subsequently slashed.
Curragh was brought in by the new board in July after the job cuts and his focus has been on getting spending on control.
That is reflected in the union's books, which were posted to clubs and delegates last week.
More than $335,000 was shaved off the Steamers' costs last season, from $1.85m to $1.51m. The drop of nearly 20 percent was helped by a drop in the wage bill - with senior players like Ben Castle and Simms Davison departing - as well as pruned travel and accommodation budgets during the Air New Zealand Cup.
Administration costs were also slashed, down from $167,521 to $68,314, reflecting the redundancies that were made and cost-savings in vehicle expenditure and office equipment.
The other big financial mover was match revenue, which lifted from $198,453 in 2007 to $281,243 last year.
It was undoubtedly helped by a much-improved Steamers performance - they finished fourth after the round-robin after finishing 13th the previous season - but Curragh also credits the union's ticket-pricing adjustment as crucial.
"Our average crowd was around 8500 last year, up from 3000 the year before - but while our revenue was up, our yield reduced as we dropped the ticket price considerably.
"That was a priority as there's no value playing in empty stadiums, and it eventually impacts on sponsorship and merchandise value as well."
Perhaps most pleasing to Curragh - who has a strong accountancy background - was the tick of aproval from union auditors Iles Casey, who gave the union books an unqualified opinion for the first time in many years.
That opinion gives the union full clearance on their internal accounting systems and the integrity of their financial information.
The Bay union still felt the impact of the under-performing Chiefs franchise, however, not receiving any distributions from the Chiefs' discretionary trust, after getting $122,984 the previous season.
However, $15,000 - part of a $30,000 loan given by the Chiefs in 2007 - was written off to help with player retention.
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Steamers 2010 |
| : ITM Cup |
| Position: 8 |
| 31 July: Waikato, L 10-13 |
| 6 Aug: Hawke's Bay, W 30-11 |
| 14 Aug: Auckland L 6-11 |
| 20 Aug: Taranaki, L 15-24 |
| 29 Aug: Harbour, W 39-29 |
| 3 Sep: Canterbury, Away |
| 9 Sep: Manawatu, Baypark |
| 19 Sep: Counties, Baypark |
| 24 Sep: Otago, Rotorua |
| 30 Sep: Wellington, Away |
| 10 Oct: Tasman, Away |
| 16 Oct: Southland, Baypark |
| 21 Oct: Northland, Away |
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