In January last year, the Fortune was under serious pressure and its balance sheet was "severely compromised with outstanding debts crippling any chance of survival", chairman Peter Brown said in his report to the theatre's annual meeting last night.
However, the Fortune's staff and board, with the help of the Dunedin City Council and Creative New Zealand, had turned that around, he said.
"The Fortune had a stellar year in 2010. We have never before posted the kind of surplus we did in 2010."
The theatre recorded a surplus of $100,015, up from $49,357 in 2009 and the loss of $87,722 in 2008.
It was achieved by reducing costs wherever possible and working hard to produce plays of "uncompromising quality and audience appeal", he said.
The box office performance was satisfactory but "not brilliant", so the good result came down staff controlling costs without compromising quality.
Treasurer Kate Wynn-Williams said in her report the positive result had been helped by vacant staff positions reducing expenditure, with the shortfalls covered by staff putting in extra cost efforts and cost controls.
"At the end of 2010, the position indicates a healthy asset position and significantly reduced debt."
The theatre's accounts showed it had reduced its long- and short-term debt by a third to $147,640 from $234,907 in 2009. In the same period, its total assets increased by 6.4% to $210,568.
Mr Brown said in an interview Creative New Zealand had been very helpful in providing funding around the theatre's creditor situation.
"The good thing is once we got it right half way through last year, we've kept it that way."
Nearly six months in to 2011, the theatre's finances were still looking sound, Mr Brown said.
"Professional theatre is a very fragile beast so we won't be resting on our laurels."
Mr Brown was re-elected chairman for 2011.
