The Otago Cricket Association has recorded a modest gain for the financial year ended July 31, 2013.
It returned a net surplus of $26,537 and increased its equity to $282,234. The gain was down on the previous financial period, in which the association returned a healthy profit of $89,165.
Total revenue has dropped marginally from $3,178,774 to $3,127,838, the biggest decline coming in grants from funding organisations.
These were slashed from $321,391 to $233,479 and sponsorship also suffered a hit, falling from $310,011 to $276,363. However, in terms of cash, sponsorship was up $9000 to $184,000.
Offsetting the losses was a big gain in revenue from interest, player levies and sundries, which were up from $49,652 to $98,490. Revenue from gates was up more than $20,000 from $75,953 to $96,261.
Total expenditure was up ever so slightly from $2,909,609 to $2,914,995. Spending on competitions was up but less was spent on coaching and development.
Chief executive Ross Dykes said it was getting harder to source money from gaming trusts and he expected that to continue. The association has had to change tack and is putting a greater emphasis on generating alternative revenue streams.
''We've got to adapt. There are other avenues and the more successful our shop-window team is, the better chance we have of attracting meaningful sponsors.''
Dykes said Otago cricket fans could expect to see more advertising on the players' uniforms this summer as the association looked for ways to offer their sponsors extra value and generate more income.
Overall, though, Dykes described the financial result as ''adequate''.
''I think we've been quite sharply aware and alerted to the fact that we do have to look at other streams of income because the gaming trust funding is getting harder to get. And that is also a good source of income for our districts and we can't be drying up the pot.''
At the 137th annual meeting last night, board member Nick Smith did not seek re-election. Jason Cushen and Bevan Rickerby were constitutionally bound to retire but were re-elected unopposed.
President John Petre was also constitutionally bound to step down after serving for three years. University of Otago chancellor John Ward will step into the role. Otago businessman Stuart Heal has been upgraded from his interim role and will be New Zealand Cricket chairman for the next year.
Heal was unanimously voted in by the new board at its first meeting in Auckland yesterday.
He has been an NZC board member since 2008 and is the former long-serving CRT chief executive. He is also the chairman of Pioneer Generation, the Southern Primary Health Organisation and the University Book Shop.
Heal said he was looking forward to leading NZC into an exciting era as it counted down to hosting the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
''Hosting one of the world's biggest sporting events is a huge opportunity for both NZC and the sport in this country,'' he said.
''We need to ensure we do everything possible to reap the benefits of having the world's best players on our shores.''
Heal was keen to see some of the chairman's duties shared around the new-look board and former NZC chief executive Martin Snedden will take responsibility for attending International Cricket Council meetings. A high performance advisory group has been established, headed by Don Mackinnon and including former internationals Sir Richard Hadlee, Geoff Allott and Snedden.
The new board was voted in by delegates representing all major and district associations last month. The vote was the result of the new constitution unanimously approved by the associations in July.
