Wine Marlborough Limited Annual Report 2024

Treasurer’s Report

Marlborough Winegrowers 2024

Financial Result

ANDREW NATION

I am excited to share with you some key highlights from the past financial year. As we reflect on our achievements and challenges, I am proud to report that our organisation received the largest ever levy return of $617,199 for FY24. This remarkable figure, although under five per cent of the total levy paid by our members to NZW, underscores the dynamic nature of our funding, which fluctuates based on wine sales volumes and harvest sizes.

Our organisation, Marlborough Winegrowers (MWG), operates through Wine Marlborough Limited, which serves as our activity centre. The levy funds we receive are crucial for supporting generic activities that benefit all our members. These funds are transferred as working capital each month, ensuring the smooth operation of our initiatives.

The other revenue we receive is from events, advertising and the Winepress magazine. These income streams generally remained stable; however, there was a strong performance from Winepress, our key communications tool. This stability, coupled with extra income from other events, allowed us to employ a nearly full-time events assistant to support the event manager and team. This addition was instrumental in enhancing our operations, although it did contribute to an increase in operating expenditure.

Financially, we ended the year with an annual consolidated surplus of $148,063. Our accumulated members’ equity has grown to $1,315,354. In light of this, the board has a reserves policy to safeguard a core amount of these accumulated funds for potential emergency working capital use. The remaining funds are ringfenced as ‘restricted funds’ to be used for industry good activities.

However, we also face significant challenges ahead. The financial year we are currently in is likely to reduce our accumulated funds due to the tighter financial environment we are navigating. We face the same challenges as our members, given the way our levy funding is derived. This situation requires us to be more strategic and prudent in our financial planning and resource allocation.

Despite these challenges, our commitment to supporting our members and the broader industry remains unwavering. We are dedicated to finding innovative solutions and strategies to navigate these tough times and continue delivering value to our members.

I would like to extend my thanks to my fellow board members and, in particular, the members of the finance committee. Your support and ongoing guidance has been invaluable in steering the organisation through the past year, and will be required to help guide the Marlborough Winegrowers through this current year.

In closing, I have the responsibility of recommending the Auditor to the role for the coming 12 months. The board recommends continuing to use current auditors of Crowe New Zealand Audit Partnership of Nelson.

Thank you, Andrew Nation, Treasurer.