Increased corporate sponsorship, strong community support and a limit on expenses in 2015-16 led the Estevan Power Dodge Bruins to a substantial cash flow surplus compared to the previous season.
The Bruins revealed a $49,588 surplus for the year ending April 30, 2016, at their annual general meeting that was held at the Days Inn Fireside Room on Oct. 26. The surplus is a major jump from the $7,010 deficit accumulated by the team in 2014-15.
Bruins treasurer Brant Kersey said a little bit of success in the playoffs and a tremendous job by head coach and general manager Chris Lewgood in taking a hard line on expenses, despite the season going longer this year due to the players extended stay in Estevan for the April 30-May 8 Western Canada Cup (WCC), contributed to the surplus. He said any revenue generated from the actual WCC tournament is not reflected in this financial statement as the competition occurred after the year ended, but the work done by the WCC committee promoting the event and the Bruins played a big part in the team's success.
According to an independent auditor's report prepared by MNP LLP chartered professional accountants that was presented at the annual general meeting, the Bruins posted $891,864 in total revenue last season, which was an increase of $94,437 from 2014-15. Revenue from the regular season was up $50,671 with season tickets sales recording an eight per cent increase, 50/50 sales jumping by 24 per cent and first-time income from minor hockey association administration, after the Bruins and the Estevan Minor Hockey Association combined their office administration positions before the 2015-16 season, providing a $21,826 boost.
The Bruins playoff income more than doubled from the previous season jumping to $53,063, while corporate revenue increased by 14 per cent. Income from the team's spring camp also went up jumping 61 per cent to $8,940 while first-time revenue from their conditioning/skills camp accounted for a $10,638 profit. The only major decrease in revenue for the Bruins last season came from a 30 per cent drop in fundraising compared to 2014-15.
“The fundraising was down last year mainly because the year before we actually had two sportsman dinners on the financials,” said Kersey. “Our sportsman dinner was just one time this year. We had a really good time with it, but at the same time it was a smaller event. It wasn't held at Affinity Place. We understood that the timing of the Western Canada Cup, which really corresponds with the timing of our sportsman dinners in the past, would be in conflict. So, we had it ahead of time and we held it at the Wylie Mitchell building.”
The team recorded $644,457 in cost of sales and $279,541 in expenses, including $20,864 in amortization (paying off of a debt), bringing their deficiency of revenue over expenses to $32,134. The expenses showed a six per cent increase from the previous season with a jump in advertising charges accounting for $14,088 of this amount, while their travel costs actually went down significantly in 2015-16 dropping 55 per cent to $6,020.
The Bruins gross profit increased six per cent to $247,407 last season despite their cost of sales rising by $78,615 compared to 2014-15. The team's end of year balance in the statement of changes in net assets is 19 per cent larger than the previous season coming in at a $171,331 deficiency.
Kersey said the Bruins volunteer executive has realistic expectations that the team will have a harder time increasing their revenue in 2016-17 and have scaled back their budget significantly for this reason. He said Lewgood is also taking another look at their expenses in an attempt to find more areas to cut, but it is getting tougher to find places to trim.
“You just have to look at the logical things in making sure that the budget makes sense and (keep) the expenses down because the revenues are not there this year,” he said. “We're fully aware that advertising buys and sponsorship buys are down significantly and that's just the stuff you have to deal with.”
