Scottish Rugby has generated record revenues of more than £73 million in the past year, but the deficit increased to £11.3m, the annual report for 2023/24 shows.
However, a change in the accounting period means this set of figures covers 13 months, with Scottish Rugby stating a like-for-like comparison for the losses over the 12 months to May 31 was £8m.
It said “exceptional items of £1m to cover restructuring and redundancy costs " were also factored in.
The report itself also states remuneration for the highest paid director of the group, former chief executive Mark Dodson, was £887k, up from £676k the previous year.
A severance payment of £262k was also paid to former chief financial officer, Hilary Spence who left the business in March to focus on health issues.
Scottish Rugby said the £6m revenue growth has been achieved through rises in professional rugby, hospitality and commercial income.
Revenues for the reporting period were £73.9m, up from £67.8m the previous year.
Earlier this year, Scottish Rugby Limited (SRL) chairman John McGuigan has stated his long-term aim to make Scottish Rugby a £100m business.
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On the publication of the annual report, McGuigan said: “On arriving as the Chair of Scottish Rugby Limited (SRL) in June 2023, it soon became apparent that alongside a number of known challenges such as our ageing stadium, there were some deeper and more immediate issues to tackle, particularly around our financial sustainability.
“Since those issues were identified, we have been working tirelessly to ensure we return Scottish Rugby to a sound financial footing. Doing so will allow us to focus on other strategic matters crucial to the development of the game at club, professional and international level.
“This is in parallel to work being undertaken to look at increasing our future revenue growth and bring to life new commercial opportunities.
“We are determined to ensure that trend continues until we reach a sustainable, long-term position; a target we are committed to achieving in the financial year 2026/27.”
The report shows expenditure in professional and high-performance rugby, club and school support Funds, administration and governance rose in 2023/24 compared with the previous year.
Other factors contributing to spend included an additional month of employee and operational costs plus preparations and participation in last year’s World Cup.
And capital expenditure of £1.2m over the period comprised heavily on improvements at Scottish Gas Murrayfield, Hive Stadium and Scotstoun.
In July this year, Scottish Rugby announced plans for a “financial reset” programme which included making 35 redundancies.
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It is hoped these will provide a pathway to profitability in the 2026/27 financial year.
Losses in the region of £3.8m are forecast for the current financial year, followed by a break-even position in 2025/26 and a return to profit in the following year.
Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) Chair, Professor Lorne Crerar, said: “The new budgetary and supporting plan has now been put in place after much hard work, and despite further significant losses recorded for 2023/24, there is cause for optimism going forward.
“All those involved in the journey of Scottish Rugby, including our stakeholders, the Boards of SRU, SRL and Club Rugby Board (CRB), together with all our Scottish Rugby colleagues, have contributed to meeting the challenges of this financial year.
"I am in no doubt that all acting in concert, we will ensure that we successfully meet the challenges of the future.”
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