Hibs have their AGM to look forward to on 8 November when the figures announced today will no doubt be high on the agenda. The club recorded an annual loss of almost £1million but chairman Rod Petrie continues to be buoyant about the club's financial future. The "bottom-line loss" figure of £0.9million is the first deficit posted by the Easter Road side in seven years. A statement on the club website attributed the disappointing figures to "recessionary pressures on supporters and corporate partners, a lack of sporting success, a drop in player trading and a change in manager".
Hibs, who sold Anthony Stokes to Celtic for a reported £1.2million in August last year, finished 10th in the SPL after Colin Calderwood failed to improve results since replacing John Hughes as manager a year ago. Hibs exited the Europa League, the League Cup and the Scottish Cup - to Maribor, Kilmarnock and Ayr United respectively - at the earliest stage. The club reported its net debt at £5.9million but stated a "positive cash balance" of £2million and Petrie insists they are in a stable position. Petrie said: "Of course we are very mindful of the obvious fact that the lack of success on the field had a direct bearing on the level of turnover. The sporting outcomes for the season were not what any of us would have wished. The team exited two competitions before the change in management and suffered the disappointment of an exit from the third competition in early January before new manager Colin Calderwood was able to refresh the squad."
The club has been actively been taking cost-cutting actions including redundancies with staff costs remaining at £4.8million, a figure equal to 69% of the club's slightly lower £7million turnover. Petrie added: "Despite the figures recorded last year, the financial position of the club is secure."