Tasman Makos: News

Makos backin black and on track
15-Apr-2010

MARLBOROUGH EXPRESS - John Alexander
The Tasman Rugby Union's management has plenty to celebrate, after announcing a big turnaround in its financial fortunes at last night's annual meeting, but the road ahead remains challenging.

The union recorded an operating profit of $543,358, compared with a $1,996,358 loss in 2008, but the remarkable turnaround in its fortunes has come at a cost.

Chief executive Peter Barr and chairman Nick Patterson, although obviously pleased with the result, emphasised that it was achieved only through prudent financial management, including curtailing parts of the operation.

Cost-cutting measures included no B, colts' or women's teams and no team being entered in the national sevens.

Other areas were also trimmed, said Barr.

"In 2008, a number of staff left because of our uncertain future and we didn't bring staff back immediately, which saved on salaries, and this helped immensely."

Barr said the union had reached the point where the limit of cost-cutting had been reached, short of compromising the operation of the organisation.

This year it intends to reinstate some areas of operation, including a Tasman colts' team and the Makos sevens' team.

The under-48-kilogram and 65kg representative teams from Nelson Bays and Marlborough are also being reintroduced.

"We are putting back in what we think we need to put back in," Patterson said. "We are a very lean and mean organisation and we believe we are servicing the game adequately and wanting to grow it."

Two academies have been introduced, with Leon MacDonald managing the Nelson Bays setup and Aaron Senior the Marlborough academy, the aim of which is to mirror player development in each province.

Patterson said not having uncertainty about the union's future was a huge plus.

He felt that although making the top seven was obviously a priority this year for the team, its aim was to win the ITM Cup.

Despite the union's vastly improved economic position, Barr said that the battle to achieve a break-even or surplus financial result was ongoing and not easy.

"We still need to generate more revenue. We are secure in the fact that we are playing in the premier competition, but we will have challenges maintaining financial viability. We face them (the challenges) a lot more comfortably, knowing that we are in the ITM Cup for three years."

Barr believes that when the new proposed salary cap reduction is confirmed, on the signing of the Players Collective Agreement, it will make the competition more sustainable for all unions.

"We have been living beyond our means. It is disappointing to us that we haven't seen more restructuring in player payments, given the situation unions are in."

He said the union would have some cash reserves but it needed to generate $1m of sponsorship to break even.

Other key financial results recorded in this year's annual report included total expenses down from $3,371,519 in 2008 to $2,642,962 last year. Total other expenses, comprising interest expense, depreciation expense and loss on sale of assets, was $92,775 last year compared to $1,996,358 in 2008. That figure included a loss on sale of assets, namely Lansdowne Park, of $1,744,092.

Revenue overall was slightly down at $3,279,095, compared with $3,401,630 in 2008. New Zealand Rugby Union income increased from $923,747 to $1,086,942 and commercial revenue totalled $1,954,395, compared with $1,950,515 in 2008.

Barr said he was confident about the long-term sustainability of the Tasman Makos, as long as the public came to matches and the business communities in both provinces continued their support.

There was more good news for the union today, with Golden Edge being announced as the new principal sponsor of the Makos for the next three years.

SBS, the principal sponsor for the past four years, has confirmed it will still be a major sponsor for the next two years.

Golden Edge will now replace the SBS logo as the main signage on the front of the Makos' playing jerseys.