THE money-spinning Twenty20 Cup helped Worcestershire County Cricket Club run up a pre-tax profit of £46,602 last season.

The surplus will be officially revealed to members at their annual meeting in The John Moore Theatre at King's School, Worcester, on Monday, February 9 (7pm).

The County today described the profit as a 'satisfactory recovery' after three years of losses, the 2002 deficit being £41,353.

The welcome surplus is the result of a 5.8 per cent increase in revenue set against a 2.2 per cent increase in expenditure.

As well as the highly successful Twenty20 Cup, which attracted bumper crowds to New Road, Worcestershire's other key areas of revenue improvement were membership subscriptions -- the highest figure since 1996 -- and a 'significant' increase in the catering surplus.

Subscriptions rose to £355,912 representing a rise of 14.5 per cent on the year.

Gate receipts went up by 57 per cent to £213,129 on the back of the Twenty20 Cup and a run in the Cheltenham & Gloucester Trophy which led to Worcestershire reaching a Lord's final for the first time since 1994.

There were also better than expected receipts from the tourist and County Championship matches.

The catering surplus improved by 70 per cent to £43,693 while commercially there was a 34 per cent decline from the record figure of £230,357 in 2002.

There was a slowdown in the sponsorship and advertising market and the County hope a long term major sponsor can be found before the start of next season.

There was a total of 5,083 club members in 2003 compared with 4,924 the previous year with the increase in membership revenue amounting to £45,000.

Cricket expenses, which include players' salaries, insurance, meals and pension schemes, rose from £1,356,759 to £1,368,844.

County treasurer Peter Seward said: "I am delighted to announce this return to profit which reflects the growing interest by the public in county cricket during 2003 and the ability to keep expenditure under control.

"I am happy to report that the club is in a good position to meet the financial challenges ahead both on and off the field."