ULSTER RUGBY RECORDED a loss of more than £900,000 in the 2022/23 season, with CEO Jonny Petrie highlighting the “huge impact” of their relocated Heineken Champions Cup match against La Rochelle.
The pre-tax loss of £937,336 was revealed in the annual accounts of the IRFU Ulster Branch, to the end of June 2023, published as part of the province’s annual report.
“The challenges of financing within rugby have been well publicised given the travails of a number of clubs over in England this past year,” Petrie wrote in his report.
“Although they operate a very different model there, the same headwinds are not something that we are immune to.
“The costs of running the business have grown massively – utilities, match costs, staff salaries, rates and we are having to work hard to ensure that we are running as lean as possible while still delivering on and off the field.”
Petrie explained that “this difficult financial climate was further exacerbated by the loss of revenues from the La Rochelle game – an incredibly unfortunate situation that had a huge impact on our finances.”
Ulster were due to host La Rochelle in a blockbuster Champions Cup clash in December 2022, but saw the game relocated to Dublin’s Aviva Stadium as Kingspan Stadium was deemed unplayable despite Ulster’s insistence to the contrary.
“All of this contributes to an outlook that is not easy, frankly,” Petrie continued.
“We are tackling this head on through our executive team and through our committees and working in conjunction with the IRFU on reviewing and reforming the funding model for the sport on the island – a big piece of work that will see us get to a more certain and sustainable future.”
Honorary treasurer Michael Boyd described the year as “challenging on a financial basis” in his report.
“Costs continue to rise but are being controlled in a way which tries to balance performance on the pitch v overall value for money,” Boyd explained.
“IRFU support continues to be vital for the Ulster Branch as it is for the other provinces.”
