Dunfermline Athletic hope to “break even” by May this year despite making a loss last year.
The club, who are in the promotion race in the first division, have released their financial results for the season 2009/10 to their shareholders ahead of the club’s annual general meeting on Monday, February 21.
Dunfermline had an operating loss of £724,000 in season 2008-09. The Pars failed to gain promotion last season but had a good Scottish Cup run, culminating in a home fifth round tie against Celtic, which was screened live on TV and netted the club valuable income.
Dunfermline chief executive William Hodgins said that the financial loss experienced last season was “disappointing” but remained optimistic about the months ahead.
“The loss to May 31, 2010, was disappointing and resulted entirely from reduced turnover as the club, like many others in Scotland, encountered the ‘perfect storm’ with challenging economic conditions that affected match attendances and commercial income, coupled with the harshest winter for decades.”
He continued, “On a much more positive note the club has addressed its cost base since May 2010 and we are forecasting a break-even position to May 2011. This has been achieved by rationalisation across all aspects of the business. However, we have still been able to provide a title-challenging budget for the first team and promotion is well within our reach.”