Ospreys make £660k loss as Covid-19 hits in last financial year
- Published
Chairman Rob Davies is "confident that the underlying financial governance for the business is strong"
Ospreys made an operating loss of £660k in the last financial year, £416k more than the previous accounting period.
The Welsh region's finances up until 30 June, 2020 included the impact on rugby of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ospreys chairman Rob Davies said Covid-19 brought about "enormous challenges".
But he is confident that as financial circumstances ease, "Ospreys will be able to sustain in the short term and thrive commercially in the years ahead".
In May 2020 Asia-based Y11 Sports & Media company became Ospreys' major shareholder in a "multi-million pound deal", with Davies remaining chairman.
Since then, Ospreys and Welsh rivals Dragons, Scarlets and Cardiff Blues have taken out UK government-backed loans totalling £20m that were negotiated by the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU).
Ospreys' loan is £5m and, like the loans to their fellow Welsh teams, is repayable by 2025.
But Davies has welcomed an attempt involving the WRU and Welsh Government to renegotiate those loans over a 20-year period.
In his annual report, Davies stated: "Unfortunately, as an ongoing consequence of the pandemic, the annual agreed funding due from the WRU to the four professional regions in Wales for 2020-21 has been very significantly reduced, which has led to the regions collectively having to take out long-term loans from the WRU of £20M in order to pay salaries and survive.
"The Ospreys loan is for £5M. Under current arrangements these loans are repayable over five years, which in itself would be a major challenge.
"However, I am delighted that the Welsh Government, the WRU and the regions have recently been working closely and constructively together to put a package of grants and other measures in place that would enable the regions to emerge from the pandemic on a firmer footing.
"I am confident that if these measures are put in place, the Ospreys will be able to sustain in the short term and thrive commercially in the years ahead."