The Oamaru Licensing Trust is back in the black — albeit by a small margin — after a challenging few years.
After posting a $630,000 loss for the year ending March 30, 2023, it has turned a $26,000 profit in 2024.
Trust chairman Ali Brosnan said things were beginning to look more positive.
"The effects of Covid are disappearing but still lingering to a certain degree," he told the trust’s annual meeting on August 29.
Trading had returned to 20% of where it was prior to the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and the turnaround was "probably 12 months earlier" than anticipated.
Overall, revenue was up by $1.2 million.
"Revenue has improved, although profit is not quite back at 2019 levels. We are happy with how things are trending.
"In the current trading year, we are expecting conditions to continue to improve as tourism bookings are looking to return to pre-Covid levels.
"We anticipated a return to profit in the 2025 season, and are thrilled to announce a profit a year earlier than expected — albeit a small profit."
But the trust continued to face challenging times, Mr Brosnan said.
This was against the background of smaller licensing trusts "struggling with high overheads" which added pressure on the current trust model.
Staff costs were up and fleshing out a strategic plan for the trust model was "pretty important". This meant "trying to reinvent the wheel a wee bit" as it looked to maintain momentum.
Mr Brosnan said a significant factor was its auditing costs which "hit really hard".
The external audit costs were $90,000 this year, aside from the internal costs of preparing for the audit.
Independent trust member Brad Watts, of Scenic Circle Hospitality, said the ongoing impact of Covid on the wider hospitality sector was sobering.
In-bed levels were 80% of those pre-Covid and the number of international tourists was "nowhere the same that they were".
However, Mr Brosnan said the trust was "pretty bullish" in terms of its accommodation business’s future.
