The company that operates the National Ploughing Championships recorded combined losses of €1.25m during two pandemic hit years when the event was cancelled.
New accounts filed by The National Ploughing Association of Ireland show that the company last year recorded pre-tax losses of €600,353 when the event was cancelled for a second year running due to Covid-19.
The 2021 loss followed the NPAI recording losses of €656,240 in 2020.
The cancellations hit the Association's revenues across 2021 and 2020.
In the year 12 months to the end of January 2022, the Association recorded revenues of €105,219 and this followed revenues of €90,990 in 2020.
In 2019, the Ploughing Association recorded revenues of €5.6m after 297,000 people attended the 88th National Ploughing Championships at Ballintrane, Fenagh, Co Carlow.
"The losses are what they are – the National Ploughing Association is a national voluntary association limited by guarantee – we have no shareholders and we are self funding – we don’t receive any government grants to run the event," said NPAI Assistant Managing Director, Anna Marie McHugh.
Last year the Association’s administrative expenses stood at €1.1m and Ms McHugh said: "During Covid we still had to run the National Association and support our club and county ploughing associations."
Ms McHugh said that one national ploughing championship costs in the region of €6m to €7m to stage.
The loss last year reduced the association’s accumulated profits from €12.3m to €11.7m.
"The NPA have always endeavoured to have enough reserves to run one maybe two events," Ms McHugh said.
"This rainy day fund had to be tapped into during Covid and that is what it was for. The reality is that if the NPA did not have these reserves and without any government funding the Association would have run the risk of financial ruin as a result of Covid but that has not happened and we are back and as strong as ever thankfully."
Ms McHugh stated that the Covid pandemic "had a massive financial impact on the NPA as we were not eligible for the "Events Industry" grants which would really have helped when the Association had absolutely no revenue for almost three years."
Ms McHugh said that the Association was eligible for the Wage Subsidy Scheme "so we managed to keep all our staff which was massively important to the Association as our work is quite specialised".
The Association's losses last year would have been far higher but for 'other operating income’ of €545,695 that included €391,171 profit on the sale of investments, wage subsidy scheme payments of €79,524 and a Government grant of €75,000.
The other operating income was offset by a non-cash loss in value of €165,898 in investments.
"We are very cognisant of the losses – of course - it’s a lot of money and we are endeavouring to save costs wherever we can this year without impacting at all on the "event" but we have the reserves and they are being used to produce the Ploughing experience exactly the same as we have done over the years," said Ms McHugh.
This year’s Ploughing Championships are to take place at Ratheniska, Co Laois on September 20th, 21st and 22nd.
Ms McHugh said the association is expecting 300,000 visitors over the three days.
"Honestly we are absolutely delighted with the way the event is shaping up – we had no idea how our exhibitors and patrons would respond to the return of the event after a full three year gap," she said.
"We have been blown away by the demand for exhibition space and ticket sales to date. Already the event is very close to being as big as ever which we would never have expected."
However, Ms McHugh doesn’t expect the Association to return to profit this year.
"No I would not anticipate that the Ploughing Championships will make a profit this year – hosting the world contest adds costs in the region of €1.5 million and there is no real financial return on that – obviously there is a massive status associated and it is brilliant for tourism but no financial gain for the National Ploughing," she said.
"Also the NPA did add 15% to the cost of exhibits this year in anticipation of increased costs of running event but since those rates were set in February rates across the board for everything has skyrocketed and inflation has just soared – our costs this year will definitely exceed our expenses even with the bumper event that this year is shaping up to be."
"All that said it is never about profit for the NPA – as I say we are a national voluntary association and if the event breaks even the Board is satisfied."
