Essex County Cricket club finished up with a small trading profit of £4,688 last year despite a disastrous season during which they were relegated from Division One of the County Championship. The figure represents a remarkable turnaround from 2000 when they posted a deficit of £370,000. When bank interest and investment income is taken into account the County were able to point to a surplus for the year of just over £77,000. But despite these welcome figures, treasurer Peter Keith warns of tough times ahead. "With substantial increases to playing staff costs and the general increase in running the club, we are forecasting a deficit for the current year," he said. "Although we are likely to get increased revenue from the ECB (it was £1,327,250 last year) it will not be enough to keep us in surplus and we are again looking to our commercial team to discover new income streams." Last year the county's commercial arm generated £272,388, which represented an increase of £118,000 when compared with the previous 12 months. Thanks to capacity crowds for the visit of the Australians, profits from matches at Chelmsford showed a healthy increase. After expenses these increased from just over £89,000 to nearly £175,000, but of the County's three grounds outside headquarters, only Colchester's Castle Park proved a financial success. The Festival Week in Castle Park resulted in a profit of £29,204 from proceeds of nearly £105,000, but Southend's Southchurch Park showed a loss approaching £2,500 and Ilford's Valentine Park was in the red by £13,000. Salaries of players and the coaching staff are closing in on the £1m mark. In 2001 they stood at £941,000, an increase of around £77,000. On the membership front Essex revealed they had 6,390 in 2001, an increase of 216 from the 2000 level. This resulted in subscription income of £362,277, up by nearly £30,000. Essex are engaged in a couple of one-day friendly matches against Kent at Chelmsford this weekend. Tomorrow's action starts at 11.30am, while Sunday's game is half an hour earlier. Essex have signed a five-year deal with Kent brewery Shepherd Neame to sponsor their Norwich Union League shirts for a six-figure sum. The Faversham-based firm, Britain's oldest brewer, also sponsor the Essex Cricket League