New Zealand Rugby reports $19.5m loss for 2024 as chief executive Mark Robinson says model is ‘unsustainable’
Thursday, 8 May 2025
Currency turbulence and spending on NZR+ strategy lead to deficit.
Reserves remain at $174.5 million, as chair David Kirk praises ‘strong’ balance sheet.
Revenue reaches $285 million, a record for NZ Rugby.
New Zealand Rugby has announced a deficit of $19.5 million for 2024 as $11.7m of spending on the NZR+ digital strategy and a loss on foreign currency hedging outweighed record revenue of $285m.
The loss is NZ Rugby’s third in a row, and larger than the $8.9m deficit for 2023, and although the organisation’s reserves remained strong at $174.5 million chief executive Mark Robinson reiterated his belief that the game’s model was “unsustainable”.
“Pleasingly, we continued to grow our commercial revenue, with strong results in sponsorship and matchday revenue, we retained our cash position and reserves, and operationally, delivered a near break-even result,” Robinson said in a statement.
“However, we are committed to working on a sustainable financial model for our game as this year’s result again demonstrates that the high fixed-cost structure we live within is not sustainable, even as we grow our overall revenue.
“That work will step up in earnest this year.”
New NZ Rugby chair David Kirk, overseeing his first set of results, noted the $19.5m loss but said there were “grounds for optimism’”.
“Achieving a new high watermark of $285m income, healthy commercial revenue streams in what is a difficult international operating environment, and reinvesting into the game at all levels, are grounds for optimism,” Kirk said in a statement.
“NZ Rugby retains an incredibly strong balance sheet which is vital for rugby in New Zealand and its ability to weather any major shocks.”
NZ Rugby’s annual statements showed that revenue for the year ending December 31, 2024, rose to $285m from $268m due to increases in broadcast, sponsorship and matchday revenue, which are all lower in 2023 due to the Rugby World Cup.
However, costs for “teams in black” and “administration” rose, contributing to a significant leap in expenditure to $305m from $277m.
A currency hedge related to the aborted INEOS sponsorship deal also added $7.8m to expenditure, although this could be clawed back in 2025, depending on currency movements.
Provincial union funding was reduced to $40.5m in 2024, a slight decrease from $43.3m in 2023.
The Silver Lake slice from its $262.5m investment into NZ Rugby is also becoming clearer.
At present, the complicated financial transaction is operating as debt, with a 4% rate of return for Silver Lake.
In 2024, that equated to just over $10m leaving the game, although a key date is looming in two months that will determine if Silver Lake’s share of revenue increases sharply in 2025.
The NZ Rugby statements showed that Silver Lake has the right to convert its debt into an equity position after June 30, meaning it could start to take 7.37% of revenue. It is unclear if Silver Lake will exercise this right.
NZ Rugby’s digital strategy, and the $11.7 spending on NZR+, will also come under scrutiny from stakeholders, but Robinson said it was already delivering for the sport.
“In total $38m was tagged to use for future commercial initiatives, and in 2024 we drew down $11.7m to invest in NZR+ to continue to grow its reach and tell our stories,” he said.
“While this is about the long-term, we also believe this is generating positive commercial outcomes in the short-term.”
Despite the one-off currency hedge loss on the INEOS sponsorship, it is understood that NZ Rugby has emerged on the positive side of the ledger from that situation.
On Monday, Toyota New Zealand was confirmed as a new apparel sponsor, and it is likely that another consumer brand will take the space on the back of the All Blacks’ shorts.
Those deals, plus the INEOS settlement, are thought to exceed what the UK-based petrochemicals company was paying - an outcome NZ Rugby is directly linked to its digital strategy and ability to show potential sponsors how many fans it can reach.
NZ Rugby said: “NZR+ content achieved one billion views in 2024, with 25% coming from the US and UK.
“More than 280,000 users had also registered with NZR+ and NZR and Teams in Black brands had over 13 million followers or subscribers across key social media platforms, including the All Blacks’ YouTube channel, which surpassed one million subscribers.”