The American Club 2019/2020 Annual Report

committed to revisiting the budget (which was based on conservative assumptions given the considerable uncertainties) after Q1FY21 and potentially quarterly thereafter, throughout this financial year. However, we are performing much better in Q1 of our new fiscal year (Q1FY21) than budgeted. We are hopeful this trend will both continue and grow as the world in general and Singapore in particular get their arms around the pandemic. While these trends are promising, regaining our pre-redevelopment metrics will take time. Our Membership base has a historical average annual attrition of about 350 Members, so our new Member recruitment efforts will need to exceed this number for the next several years to bring us even with pre-redevelopment Membership levels. Furthermore, in order to achieve breakeven, The Club will need to grow Membership, grow revenue and prudently manage expenses, all while delivering superior service. We are grateful for our Members’ patience, understanding and resilience during this challenging period. With our enhanced facilities, trademark American service, vibrant community with a distinct American culture, and a place that families can proudly call their home away from home, The Club is positioned to continue its long tradition as one of Singapore’s premier social clubs well into the future.

The Club has attracted a total of 1,692 new Members (this implies 47% of our Members joined since redevelopment began) with a cumulative $19 million in Club entrance fees. We ended FY20 with reserves of $22.753 million, fulfilling our mandate of maintaining reserves of not less than $20 million through the final completion of the redevelopment. It is noteworthy that The Club has no long- term debt and did not utilize the available line of credit during redevelopment. However, we feel it is important to stress that these reserves will be reduced by the remaining redevelopment payments, operating losses, capital expenditures, and increased by new Member joining fees in FY21. Looking Forward With increased revenue (despiteTheClubbeing closed for 2 ½ months and impacted by Covid- 19-related measures for the last five months of the fiscal year), proactive management of headcount and minimizing the use of part- time staff, payroll as a percentage of revenue has improved substantially in FY20 (please see MD&A for details). The introduction of our Central Production Kitchen has allowed the Food & Beverage Culinary team to improve overall efficiency as had been envisioned prior to redevelopment. While there is still more work to be done, Management efforts with various Committees, the Finance Committee, and the General Committee’s partnership and oversight, has resulted in significant progress despite the challenges thrown up by the pandemic. Recognizing the new environment in which we are operating, The Club is identifying ways to balance the goal of delivering superior service to members with the need to manage expenses effectively. We have budgeted for a loss in FY21 given the significant uncertainties brought about by the pandemic and the related safe distancing measures and other impacts on usage, revenue, as well as the additional costs associated with processes, and procedures for keeping our Clubhouse safe. Furthermore, the Finance Committee and the General Committee have

Rahul Arora

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