Treasurer’s Report

Summary

The past financial year has presented many challenges to the Club. We commenced the year with around ten (10) weeks of COVID lockdown restrictions that severely curtailed operations. Mother Nature then intervened with numerous rain events that led to the full closure of the course on more than 60 days. From February through to May the Club basically operated at breakeven levels. In June, the skies cleared long enough for us to record the largest monthly surplus of the year, so given better weather conditions the final results could have been exceptional. It was a case of what could have been.

In the year ended 30 June 2022 the Club recorded a surplus attributable to members of $619,892 compared to a surplus in the previous year of $792,304. The surpluses include government subsidies of $398,430 and $396,086 respectively together with a $300,000 legal settlement in the reporting year. The Club’s Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA), or roughly speaking our cash surplus, was $1,305,427 compared to the previous year’s $1,462,598. A good result under the circumstances.

Revenue from Member Subscriptions

Demand for membership continued to be very strong across the year resulting in revenue of $3.382 million, an increase of $288k or 9% on the previous year. Entrance fee income increased to $109k from $97k the previous year. Improved member retention and new member recruitment programs have underwritten the overall financial results which sets the Club up well for the future.

Revenue from Golf and Professional Shop Services

Revenue from Golf and Professional Shop Trading was $1.505 million compared with $1.803 million in the previous year. The downturn was primarily due to reduced golf activity of members and corporate guests from a lack of access to the course, adversely impacting competition fees, green fees, and cart hire. After deducting cost of sales, employment, the ‘Outlander’ benefits program, and other expenses there was a surplus of $183k compared to $425k for the previous year.

Bar and Catering

Revenue was down by 32% over the previous year, coming in at $1.266 million. Member and corporate activity were well down due to course closures. External function income has also not returned to prepandemic levels, but every effort is being made to address the issues and attract new business.

‘Happy Hours’ and other member events achieved the aim of keeping members engaged with the Club but impacted margins negatively. There was a $282k deficit compared to $86k surplus for the previous year.

Expenditure

Total expenditure increased from $5.313 million to $5.431 million or 2.2% year on year. Within that expenditure, course expenses increased by 14% over the previous year. The course team is now fully staffed and expenditure on course maintenance materials has increased significantly which has led to an improvement in course presentation when play was possible. The purchase of new machinery has also resulted in reduced expenditure on repairs and maintenance. Targeted expenditure control focusing on reduced clubhouse and professional shop labour requirements during course closures has helped, but where money needed to be spent in other areas, such as staff training and development, it was based on a need’s basis. It is worth noting that interest charges were down to $40k compared to the previous year’s charge of $67k and insurance costs continue to increase well ahead of inflation.

Balance Sheet

Even though trading conditions were less than conducive, the Club has been able to reduce the bank loan from $600k at the commencement of the financial year to Nil as at 30 June 2022. During the next financial year, the Club will need to draw down on its loan facility to meet operational cash flow needs.

During the year, the Club has also been able to invest in solar panels, which will pay for themselves in around four years, and save on future power bills. In the ground’s maintenance area, we have purchased; two fairway mowers that do the job in half the time with half the fuel; a rough cutting mower; and four walk behind greens mowers which have proved to be invaluable in keeping the greens in top condition during the big wet. This was all achieved from operational cash flow.

In the course of the year Net Assets (Total Assets – Total Liabilities) have increased by $621k to $6.850 million.