Having sustained a couple of what treasurer, Martin Smith, described previously as "very difficult years", last year's £70,000 loss has been turned into a profit of just under £5000.

Martin told members at the club's annual general meeting on Tuesday evening that reductions made by Michael O'Neill in his players' budget and other cut-backs made by the backroom staff and an increase in sponsorship and advertising were mainly responsible for the remarkable turnaround.

He said: "On a turnover of just over £375,000, Brechin City F.C. made a profit of £4074 for the season 2007/2008.

"While we must continue to work hard to reduce the club's overdraft we can be very pleased with the quite dramatic turnaround achieved during the last financial year - expenditure down by over £38 000, income up by almost £37 000 and a loss of £71 508 in 2006/07 turned into a surplus of £4074 in 2007/08.

"On the expenditure side, the most notable difference is once again in wages, down by £20,000, and, for this, we once again have to thank our manager who has done everything in his power to reduce both wages and travelling expenses while still managing to put a team on the park which came extremely close to reaching last season's play-offs.

"In September, Calum Brown and I sat down to firm up the provisional budget we produced in April 2007 and the only item that has exceeded our predictions is kit and equipment. The purchase of a brand new home and away kit as well as jackets, player tracksuits and training gear proved much more expensive than we had originally envisaged, but with the same suppliers again this year and, hopefully, not the same amount of kit needed the figure should be a lot less in the coming season.

"Most of the other items in expenditure were either on a par with last year or have been reduced. Travelling expenses were down due to the manager's careful organisation of the players travelling to training and the fact that we only hired a team bus for the longer journeys to away games.

"At last year's AGM we said we would investigate the possibility or organising insurance to cover operations and scans but this proved to be prohibitive and all we can do is hope for a relatively injury-free season ahead.

"The only other item that stands out is meals, down by over £7000. This is due to the fact that we have netted out many of the costs in this area. Many of our meals are for sponsors and fund-raising activities so these have been taken off sponsorship and fund-raising on the income side of the accounts.

"Finally, on expenditure, a thank you to Tommy Gilmartin. At the start of last season I explained that we were all going to have to tighten our belts and asked if he could be as frugal as possible when ordering medical supplies. I didn't quite expect a £4000 reduction, but it was most welcome.

"Overall then, another step in the right direction with expenditure reduced for the fifth year in a row.

"On the income side the most disappointing feature was the drop in home league gates, down by £16,000.

"On paper it looks as if we did well in the three major cup competitions, but, for the first time, this year we have taken the sponsors' bonus money from the SFL (CIS and Challenge Cups) and SFA (Scottish Cup) entries and added them to the cup entries themselves.

"After paying for referees, catering and players' bonuses we actually made a loss of £116 in last season's Forfarshire Cup.

"While we didn't have any luck in this year's cup competitions, we did have some in the transfer market and great credit goes to the manager for the signing and then selling of Ian Russell to Morton.

"As with expenditure, most of the other items in income were on a par or showed an increase from the previous year.

"Due to the fact, as I have already mentioned, that we reduced fund-raising and sponsorship by taking off the cost of the catering, both items are well up in real terms. We had more fund-raising events than ever last year and, once again, every home league game was sponsored.

"Overall then another step in the right direction and, while we cannot hope to sell a player every year, it may well be our turn for a run in one of the cup competitions in the season ahead.

"As always, when reviewing the club's income, there are so many people to thank. First of all a huge thank you to Kevin and Julie Mackie for taking on the role of our main sponsor through Mackie Motors and the Northern Hotel and also our small but hardworking Supporters' Club, who, over the last two years, has donated over £11,000 to club funds. And also you - our season ticket holders - who, as last year, topped the 200 mark.

"Also, Eric Brown and Rhoda Dobson, who between them run the Glebe Gamble which, through the Development Association, contributed nearly £13,000 to the club's coffers; Donna Allison and Linda Ruxton, who once again organised a successful fund-raising sportswoman's dinner; all our match ball and player sponsors; our perimeter and programme advertisers with a special mention to Mike Ferguson of Ferguson Oliver, who sponsors our executive lounge as well as advertising in the ground and in the programme; and to Gary Ross, who has worked so hard this year in many areas which have benefited the club financially.

"A final thank you to my fellow committee members. I know from time to time we come in for a bit of criticism, but all of them work tirelessly for the club in so many different ways and areas.

"And what about the future? Well next year, thanks to the hard work of some of our local tradesmen, we will have a brand new, bigger executive lounge which should see an increase in sponsorship and, with an excellent manager in Michael at the helm, a hard-working management committee continuing to find ways to bring money into the club, the backing of the Supporters' Club, you - our season ticket holders - and perhaps just a little bit of luck in one of the major cup competitions, Brechin City F.C. should continue to go from strength to strength."