Annual Accounts Released

[kencar]

On offical website

Loss of ?432,000 on the year's trading

[Council Juice]

Not too good that.

Dont think it will take into account anything since April though as will be tax year related hopefully, therefore not taking Niculae fee into account.

[tm4tj]

Here is the report from Official Site

Chairman

The Club has today (Tuesday) issued their annual accounts to shareholders announcing a loss of ?432,000 on the year's trading.

The accounts reflect the increased investment in the first team squad and its support structure plus no extended cup runs last season with consequent loss of potential Sky TV income.

During the period covered by the accounts, ?285,000 of new shares was issued thus reducing the effect of the loss.

Chairman George Fraser said: "The club has made a surplus equating to ?490,000 in the previous two financial years and going forward we must ensure that our business model continues to be robust and sustainable for the longer term.

"All clubs must be mindful of their cost base in the current challenging environment and we are no different."

Mr Fraser added: "The budget for the 2008-09 season will not be impacted by the loss and we have set a football budget which has already delivered the arrivals of Adam Rooney and Andy Barrowman at the club.

"It is important to note that the accounts for 2008-09 will include the transfer fee paid by Dinamo Bucharest for Marius Niculae which will positively impact our year end."

The Chairman emphasised the club's gratitude to supporters and for all the assistance from sponsors, including major deals with Main sponsor Flybe and Youth & Community sponsor LifeScan, through to the local sponsors which he stressed remain the lifeblood of the club

[Council Juice]

Mr Fraser added: "The budget for the 2008-09 season will not be impacted by the loss and we have set a football budget which has already delivered the arrivals of Adam Rooney and Andy Barrowman at the club.

"It is important to note that the accounts for 2008-09 will include the transfer fee paid by Dinamo Bucharest for Marius Niculae which will positively impact our year end."

The Chairman emphasised the club's gratitude to supporters and for all the assistance from sponsors, including major deals with Main sponsor Flybe and Youth & Community sponsor LifeScan, through to the local sponsors which he stressed remain the lifeblood of the club.

bit more reassuring that.

[kencar]

"During the period covered by the accounts, ?285,000 of new shares was issued thus reducing the effect of the loss."

Does that mean the loss would have been ?717,000 without the share issue or is it ?432,000 less the ?285,000??? Hard to believe I have an O Grade in Accounts!!

[+Tree]

"During the period covered by the accounts, ?285,000 of new shares was issued thus reducing the effect of the loss."

Does that mean the loss would have been ?717,000 without the share issue or is it ?432,000 less the ?285,000??? Hard to believe I have an O Grade in Accounts!!

The net loss is ?147k.

The share income does not impact on the operating profit and loss account.

[Zoid]

Goes to show how important a good cup run or two are to a club of our size

[Yngwie]

Indeed. We basically lose thousands of pounds every week, and need transfer income and cup runs to remain viable.

[CaleyD]

Even allowing for the ?285k investment, we are still looking at a ?400k swing (in the wrong direction) in the accounts. That suggests that issues run a little deeper than simply not having had a cup run.

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Well good news on the whole but leaves a lot of "doubts" fer some - Good shares outcomes which I take are nothing to do with Orion Enterprises - we still dont know what the greedy Mercenary pocketed - what about the money that we are rumoured to have bagged for his Euro 2008 expolits - but I suppose business is business but I still detest the secrecy - which leaves those lingering doubts.

Wouldnt it have really helped the relationship between the club and the fan if the statement would have been more precise in stating the approx. ammounts that we profitted from this summer from the Mercenary farce - but there again business is business and that will be well hidden by this time next year.

Does explain the jettisoning of a few players though and - YES - the importance of the cup runs is well and truly highlighted. Again on the positive side a mention of the continuing Youth development and the numbers moving through into the main squad would have been a nice touch.

Gawd - do we need some PR "magic".

[Yngwie]

Attendances down, league placing income down, player wages up (even excluding Marius), larger squad, more expensive coaching/management structure, higher admin salary bill?

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Lets be a little realistic here - we are a surviving and selling club - that is how we survive. Bringing through the yoof has to be a positive and saves money in the long run. If we could attract more bums on seats we would be on the breadline. Again that has a lot to do with the inept running of that side of the club.

I take it that the "expenses" column was reduced from last year.

[Scotty]

what about the money that we are rumoured to have bagged for his Euro 2008 expolits

Probably not in the accounts until next year (along with the transfer fee).

Wouldnt it have really helped the relationship between the club and the fan if the statement would have been more precise in stating the approx. ammounts that we profitted from this summer from the Mercenary farce - but there again business is business and that will be well hidden by this time next year.

I am sure there will be a few who have long memories IHE, and this thread will still be stored this time next year

Gawd - do we need some PR "magic". :thumb04:

Indeed

Will be interesting to be able to read the full accounts when sent to shareholders .....

Perhaps the club should pay attention to some of the low cost ideas that might put more bums on seats .... regardless of what we all think of this person or that person at the club, or the disagreements we may have in discussions on here, I think we are all united in wanting the club to tick over each year or make at least a modest profit

[Ronaldo]

hear hear Scotty. more bums on seats

It's hardly rocket science??

[absent friend]

The accounting year date I do not know and it is not mentioned in the above offerings(someone mentioned an April date but I assume that is just to coincide with the tax year) but it must have been pre the big transfer.

Assuming our big sale took place after the year end, how can it be referred to, as mentioned above, in the accounts? I do accept that the purchases referred to, did take place after the date but I feel they are used to suger the pill.

Negativity breeds negativity and this site, I feel, reflects the Highland way of thinking, think the worst and your expectations may be exceeded! However, there is no doubt that this negativity feeds itself and can result in the loss of supporters - the old dripping tap situation, do it often enough and it will wear away the recipient.

I do not see this negativity on other sites, to this extent, they appear proud to be supporters and they do not occupy our current standing in the league!

Cut out all this back snapping, get some more positivity and watch more bums appear on seats!

Yes the club can do more, yes they could be more PR aware, yes they take us for granted and, I would submit, they sometimes treat us as if we do not have a collective brain between us BUT it is our club.

However, the evidence is there in the accounts - they need all the revenue they can get to allow us to put on a show each week. This means more bums on seats, prudent purchases, some selling(unfortunately), all to balance the books and maybe, just maybe, the way going of players in the last season can be seen, by some, as not a reason for booing their return to the ICT park but accepting that their sale was an necessary evil!

Whilst our loss was not a huge figure, however, for a club with our limited resources, it could have had a large impact with our top assets being on the move, resulting in a much poorer team on the park each week. Thank God for the Romanian!!

[Scotty]

Yes the club can do more, yes they could be more PR aware, yes they take us for granted and, I would submit, they sometimes treat us as if we do not have a collective brain between us

Indeed

BUT it is our club.

And that is why we are disgruntled. The club need to realise that it IS our club and although many of the supporters that come on here or grumble in bars, or in silence may not have the high profile of some of our shareholders they have also sunk a fair bit of thier own cash into the club in many ways - be it shares, tickets, merchandise, centenary club etc etc etc .....

[IMMORTAL HOWDEN ENDER]

Yip - I agree with a lot of that AF - but more open communication is required - full stop. Rumours escalate, doubts persist and grow when clear statements are not forthcoming and secrecy prevails.

Why dont you feel negativity on other sites ? Could it be that there is an atmosphere of openess. The club appear to be widening the gap between themselves and the support - that should never be the case.

We should be in this together - working together - it feels like a battle to get any clear information to be passed down - And who's fault is that ?

Shurely some of the suggestions being made and the constant negative comments - car parking; stewarding; the advertising boards; disabled facilities; food; free tickets fer kids; fans forums etc. - not to do with the feckin playing side - must be ringing in the ears of the management - and what do they appear to do ?

[RednBlackComeback]

BBC version

[Guest WynessLegend]

We're financially sound.

The "loss" includes neither the investment made to cover Niculae's wages

or the money raised from his sale.

It's a paper loss.

The reality remains bright.

[Scotty]

was thinking about this ... wouldnt the money spent creating the West Stand also be included in this ? If so, that probably took up a fair chunk of the 147K of the net loss ?

So we have a 432K loss which includes wages paid to MN. We then deduct 285k from another part of the accounts which was shares to cover his wage and we are left with a 147K loss. If the west stand is included in the expenditure, then it can also be deducted (cost?) and we would be pretty much left with a number that probably reflects the income we would have got from the cups if we had progressed.

The only other question that springs to mind is whether the fee for Rankin is included as that should have been another 100K windfall .......

[Kingsmills]

Broadly whatI expected. One year of such losses, after two successive years of substantial profit, is not a disaster but we cannot afford to let this become a trend.

It was a number of successive annual losses of about this magnitude that almost forced the club into administration before as a result of the strain of trying to service a debt aproaching three million pounds before that liability was spirited away into the stadium trust.

Our wage bill, Marius apart, is the highest it's ever been. The club need to be maximising all income streams which is all the more reason for more professionalism and greater openess at boardroom level.

[Guest birdog]

The only other question that springs to mind is whether the fee for Rankin is included as that should have been another 100K windfall .......

Exactly, and if the economy does not pick up it looks like we will have to be selling at least one key player per year to help balance the books. I haven't posted anything on this thread up till now but I think that these accounts equate to very bad news indeed.

The lower crowd figures have a knock on effect on a lot of the club's income, the loss of impulse buys from the shop and food outlets are bad enough but the loss of fans means that we are no longer such a good investment as far as sponsors, advertisers and investors go.

Bad news, very bad news.......

Edited August 26, 2008 by birdog

[CaleyD]

If you view it as a ?147k loss then, on the face of it you could be forgiven for thinking it wasn't that bad. In reality though, it's a ?400k swing in comparison to last years profit of ?250k (ish).

Without having the full accounts it's impossible to say what has caused that swing.....i.e. Was it a drop in income, an increase in costs, or a combination of both.

Whatever way you try and spin it, a ?400k drop is a bad sign for a company who's turnover is only in the region of ?2.5 Million.

[Scotty]

as you say .... Without having the full accounts it's impossible to say what has caused that swing.

disappointing but not disasterous so long as we attempt to rectify whatever seems to be the cause of the problem.

[Yngwie]

Scotty, the construction of west stand would not be an expense in the accounts. It would be treated as an asset in the balance sheet, not an expense in the P&L.

The profit on selling Rankin would be included though, but wouldn't amount as much as some people might expect. Say we got ?110k cash, about ?30k went to County leaving maybe ?80k net revenue for us. His book value in the accounts prior to selling him would maybe have been about ?35k, meaning the accounting profit on sale would have been about ?45k.