Yorkshire finances are "very healthy" despite deficit (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Yorkshire finances are "very healthy" despite deficit

6:00am Tuesday 5th March 2013 in Sport By Graham Hardcastle

Yorkshire have announced a post-tax deficit of £118,000 in their financial results for 2012, an improvement of more than £300,000 from the previous year.

The White Rose county, who lost £460,000 in 2011 and hold their annual meeting at Headingley later this month, have also generated a turnover of £7.8m - an improvement from £5.4m.

They also reported an operational surplus of £1.2m compared to £393,000 in 2011, mainly due to the return of Test cricket to Headingley in the form of England versus South Africa last August.

Yorkshire, whose last Test before that was the neutral match between Pakistan and Australia in 2010, have described their trading position as “very healthy”.

They have also said they would have returned a surplus had it not been for “some one-off expenditure, the impacts of the Olympics on Test match corporate hospitality sales and lost gate receipts from the unprecedented weather, which saw 37 per cent of playable overs lost to rain, and the abandonment of the one-day international”.

But, on the other hand, they were helped by promotion back to the LV= County Championship’s top-flight and their successful run in Twenty20, which brought unbudgeted income from both a home quarter-final and qualification for the group stages of the Champions League.

A Yorkshire statement also added: “The servicing of the club’s debt, incurred to substantially develop the club’s infrastructure and facilities, continues to exert pressure with £1m paid in interest in 2012.

“However, the fact that the club has a guaranteed Test match and one-day international every year until the end of 2019 provides some assurances over income streams.”