Glamorgan County Cricket Club has reported turnover of £6,667,531 and an operating loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), ahead of forecast of £307,778, in its annual report for the 2016 financial year.
On the field in the 2016 season, Glamorgan reached a first home Quarter-Final in the NatWest T20 Blast for 12 years with a record attendance for the T20 Blast quarter-final, whilst the two England international matches - versus Sri Lanka and Pakistan - both sold well, as the club recorded a sixth day of sell out international cricket out of the previous seven at the venue.
Revenue from membership, hospitality boxes, sponsorship and domestic match gate receipts all increased year on year, whilst a particular success off the field has been the continued development of the venue’s conferencing and banqueting business. After reporting a turnover in excess £1m for the first time in 2015, non-match day business has risen a further 25% to £1.35m.
Furthermore the club has started to diversify its activities into other entertainment areas such as concerts and darts with a view to growing new revenue streams.
“2016 has been a year of financial consolidation, building upon the stability which was delivered through the debt write-down in 2015,” said chief executive Hugh Morris.
“The Club’s annual financial results fluctuate significantly depending upon the quality and frequency of international cricket fixtures staged in Cardiff. Consequently, the club’s longer-term plan includes some years where it makes a profit and others where it makes a loss.
“Sandwiched between an Ashes year in 2015 and the Champions Trophy in 2017, both of which deliver annual EBITDA profit in excess of £1m, 2016 was always projected to be the most testing year in the current cycle of allocated international cricket fixtures.”
“Despite reporting a loss this year, the improvement in commercial revenues and a record level of performance for the conferencing and events business is encouraging.
“We continue to invest in commercial infrastructure to enable these income sources to improve further over the next few years, so we can continue to provide investment in the team, stadium infrastructure and community programmes.
“The strong attendances for international cricket in Cardiff and our investment in customer experience demonstrates a continued appetite in Wales to see the world’s best playing here and the strong crowds enjoy the match days at The SSE SWALEC.
“2017 to 2019 will be important years, with two ICC events, and two substantial distributions from the ECB, alongside a solid portfolio of one-day internationals and International T20 matches.
“We’re delighted to host the four ICC Champions Trophy games and a NatWest International T20 in June plus our new domestic season ahead includes seven home NatWest T20 Blast matches scheduled in a block of fixtures played largely in the school summer holidays. These are exciting times for Glamorgan CCC and our appreciation goes to our key stakeholders including the England and Wales Cricket Board, Welsh Government, Cardiff Council as well as our commercial partners and members of the club for their support.”
Glamorgan hosts England, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and South Africa this June in the Welsh capital, with a new release of match tickets for all games available from April 6th, whilst match tickets, season tickets and membership for Glamorgan’s domestic programme are now available from www.glamorgancricket.com