Last year's bad weather and national livestock crises helped turn a £100,000 expected profit into a £537,000 loss for the Bath & West Show Society.
The cumulative costs arising from the impact of bad weather and animal movement restrictions, imposed during the Foot & Mouth and Blue Tongue outbreaks, amounted to almost £350,000.
Other exceptional items, totalling £286,000, included one-off costs associated with the Society reporting a 14 month year for 2007 in order to change its accounting year to match the expanded show-dates calendar, and the start-up costs for the Royal Smithfield event.
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Figures for the first quarter of 2008, however, are already well ahead of previous years, with projected trading results for the year now totalling more that £413,500.
"Weather, alone, cost us £187,000, with lower attendance at the rain-hit 2007 Bath & West Show and the cancellation of the weather affected Bristol Flower Show", said Mr Hutchen.
Meanwhile, the current financial year has seen a strong start.
Projected surplus for Bath & West's trading company of £413,648 for 2008, based on the first quarter's results, is about twice the comparable figure for 2006, and well ahead of last year.
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