Warwickshire announce deficit

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Warwickshire have revealed an operating loss of £668,000 for 2012, a year in which four of seven major match days at Edgbaston were washed out.

A statement from the LV= County Champions and Clydesdale Bank 40 finalists said they were “satisfied” with the deficit, which compares to a profit of £327,000 in 2011.

Turnover was slightly down on 2011 at £11.5million, in part due to the lesser appeal of a West Indies Test compared to the India one the year before.

In addition to only three major match days at Edgbaston going ahead in 2012, the sold-out Friends Life t20 game against local rivals Worcestershire was also washed out.

Four out of seven major match days at Edgbaston last year were washed out, making for Warwickshire's operating loss of £668,000

However, the Edgbaston conference and events business continued to trade successfully with year-on-year revenue growth of 50 per cent reported for the second year in succession.

Warwickshire financial director Craig Flindall said: "It is always very difficult to compare our year-on-year financial results given the popularity of the major match fixture list from one year to the next.

“The relative attractiveness of staging the Test match against India in 2011, compared with the West Indies in 2012 meant that a reduction in revenue and profits was always expected and budgeted for.

“The exceptionally bad weather did nothing to improve this situation. However, the club mitigated the impact of the weather by reducing costs where possible and taking out insurance to cover the catering revenue for the ODI and international T20 matches.

"Our conference and events business had another successful year. The results of this revenue stream combined with the guarantee of 24 days of major match cricket in the next four years, serve to validate our business plan which underpins the investment in the stadium. Edgbaston is now an all-year-round business operation that is less reliant on cricket revenues.”

Chief executive Colin Povey added: "2012 was a year that presented us with significant operational challenges but this result shows a growing resilience in our operations.

“We have made considerable progress in recent times but we need to continue that trend in the years ahead. We already have a clear strategy and solid operational plans in place for 2013 and beyond.”

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