Half-Yearly Financial Update

On behalf of the Committee, I am pleased to present a financial update for The Brisbane Golf Club for the six-month period, 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022.

Profit and Loss

The first six months of the 2021/22 year have again been an excellent one for The Brisbane Golf Club, despite the ongoing challenge Covid-19 presented and of course, the flood in February/March. The Clubs total revenue has continued to grow, due in no small part, to the great work of the Club’s management team and staff. Combined with excellent cost controls, this revenue growth has flowed to the bottom line, resulting in an improved surplus.

The below table summarises some of the key financial metrics for the period.

Some of the highlights for the six months are:

• Revenue is up by 13.3% on 2021 and is 5.6% better than budget.
• New membership growth has continued the trend of the last few years, with 90 new members joining the club in the last six months.
• Whilst total expenses were up in total dollar terms, as a percentage of revenue, they have fallen from 87.6% to 82.3%.
• Whilst good gains have been made in improving the performance of the ‘discretionary spend’ areas of the Club (i.e. Golf Retail and Food & Beverage) significant work remains to be done and this will continue to be a strong focus in the second half of the year.

Floods

Clearly the most significant event to happen to the Club in recent years was the floods of earlier this year. While the flood had a significant effect on the club’s operations for several weeks, the hard work of volunteers and the Club’s staff ensured we were back up and running quickly and thus the financial impact on the Club was minimised.  Thank you to all those that helped get the Club get back operational so quickly.

Due to the persistence of previous Committees and our CEO, the Club has insurance to cover flooding. Whilst we are still collating quotes and considering equipment replacement options, at this stage, it looks like the Club will be fully covered financially for all costs incurred as a result of the flood. This is an excellent result given the circumstances and has meant the Club has avoided a potentially significant financial set back.

Cashflow

The Club generated an excellent free Cash Flow (after capital expenditure of $130,000) of $308,000 in the first half. This has resulted in the Club continuing to improve its financial position and to enable us to avoid drawing down on our CBA Irrigation Project Loan facility. With the second half forecast to be similar to the first, the Committee has approved a range of capital expenditure projects for the next six months totalling $470,000. Some of the major projects approved are:

• New nursery for green and tee grasses.
• New motorised cart storage area.
• Concrete pathway to the practice area and tee upgrade.
• Increased bag storage capacity in the Golf Shop.

Winter Loan Notes were offered again this year and again they were well supported.  As at 31 March 2022, $330,000 had been received, with an additional $950,000 being received in April. The Winter Loan Notes program is a win/win for Members and the Club. Members get access to a higher interest rate than they would elsewhere and the Club can borrow short term funds at a cheaper rate than our banking facilities. This offer has now closed for 2022.

Summary

From a financial perspective the Club is in an excellent position and that position is getting better all the time. This is not by fluke or good fortune, it is by the dedication and hard work that the Club’s management team are putting in, every day. I would especially like to thank Geoff and his entire team for all their continued hard work. In the eighteen months I have been working with them, I continue to be so impressed by their professionalism and openness to looking at ways to improve the Club. The Club’s staff are truly one of our best assets.

Thank you to all Members for your ongoing support of the Club and I again give a special thanks to all the Members that helped the Club clean up from the flood and get us all golfing again so quickly.

If anyone has any questions in relation to this report, please do not hesitate to contact me. My email address is bksc.myers@gmail.com or catch me when I am at the Club.

Kind regards

Bruce Myers, Hon. Treasurer