The National Ploughing Association (NPA) released its accounts for the period covering the 2023 Ploughing Championships which showed administration expenses rose by €640,000 to €7.125m during the period, while turnover dropped by €620,000 to €6.147m, leading to an operating loss of €978,000 for the 12 months to the end of January 2024.

The association reported a profit on the disposal of investments of €894,751 and a revaluation of its investment of €509,675 during the year, which meant the operating loss was turned into an after-tax profit of just over €300,000.

Attendance at the 2023 National Ploughing Championship was impacted by wet weather, with just over 200,000 attending the event, according to NPA figures.

The return of fine weather in 2024 saw attendance jump by 22% to 244,000. The average number of employees at the NPA increased by one to 19 during the period covered by these accounts, including two directors.

The NPA balance sheet shows assets of €11.94m at the end of January 2024, with financial asset of €8.4m and cash at bank and in hand of €3.3m included in that total.

Those financial assets are listed in the accounts as almost exclusively fixed-term deposits.

The revaluation during the year of €509,675 presumably was driven by the increase in market interest rates during the period covered by these accounts.

The NPA also increased its holding of Prize Bonds by €200 to €27,282.

The association received no government grants or wage subsidy payments, down from €510,280 in the previous year.