The union made a profit of $527,349 but it was facing a loss of $379,000 before it received assistance from the Government.
It received the wage subsidy to the value of $517,787, Ministry of Social Development records said, and also drew money from resilience funds set up by the Government to support sporting bodies.
Income for the union dropped by $900,000 as all major funding sources reduced because of Covid-19. Funding from New Zealand Rugby, commercial, trust funding and gate revenue all dropped. The union had to stage one of its five home games, played against Auckland, behind closed doors.
The union made savings of $675,000 when compared to the previous year in operating expenditure.
All staff took a 20% pay cut for many months — working four out of five days. Four staff at the union left last year and were not replaced.
Players who turned out for Otago in the Mitre 10 Cup also took a 20% pay cut. Amateur rugby representative programmes were also severely curtailed.
Union chairwoman Rowena Davenport said once the Covid-19 pandemic hit, the first priority was to secure the health and wellbeing of staff.
The board made cautious decisions throughout last year so the union maintained sufficient resources to deliver rugby should it return.
She said the support from the national body and other commercial backers helped the union immensely.
The profit would be banked and used as reserves for tough years ahead.
"The 2020 surplus means the union is in a position to bolster reserves, adding much needed financial resilience in anticipation of what is likely to be an ongoing environment of uncertainty," she said.
The union made a loss of $115,098 in 2019 and a profit of $131,598 in 2018.
It is budgeting for a loss for the coming year.
She said the union was not going to pay the wage subsidy back.
"We talked about that and have consulted on it but we are not in a position to pay it back.
"We qualified for it and it was needed to keep more people on board. We would have struggled without it.
"Covid affected every one of our partners. So it was coming at us from all angles."
She said the union did not make anyone redundant but roles had not been filled when people left and that remained the case.
The union was still consulting on whether it would revive representative programmes.
It was a very stressful time but she paid tribute to the staff.
"There were a few sleepless nights. At the start we did not think rugby would be played at all ... we ended up planning for the worst and hoping for the best. It was not as bad as we had anticipated.
"The staff were so supportive. They did not complain. Just kept doing their job which shows their passion for the game and Otago."
