The National Ploughing Association (NPA) racked up losses of almost €420,000 last year, despite record attendances at the 2019 Ploughing Championships in Co Carlow.

Accounts filed this week for the NPA show the organisation reported a net loss of €418,480 for its 2019 financial year, which is only a slight improvement on the €608,741 loss made in the previous year when storm Ali devastated the 2018 Ploughing in Tullamore.

The net loss for 2019 saw the accumulated profits on the NPA’s balance sheet reduce by 3% last year to just under €13m.

The accounts filed by the NPA show the organisation recorded a double-digit rise (+13%) in turnover last year to reach just over €5.6m, which is almost certainly linked to the record attendance of almost 300,000 at the National Ploughing Championships in Fenagh, Co Carlow, last year.

Turnover

This is the first time since 2015 that the NPA has reported its turnover. For 2016, 2017 and 2018, the organisation withheld reporting turnover figures in its end-of-year accounts.

The number of people employed by the NPA rose from 11 in 2018 to 13 people last year, which saw total staff costs rise by 13% in 2019 to just over €630,000.

The total remuneration for directors of the NPA amounted to €221,000 last year.