Meanwhile, expenses also rose by $26m to $183m, mainly due to more rugby being played than in 2020. But NZR said rising expenses did not negatively impact investment in game development funding to provincial unions and women's and girls' rugby, which rose to $31m and $11m respectively.
NZR chair Stewart Mitchell said the organisation's first financial profit in five years was a credit to the way rugby's stakeholders, partners and staff had pulled together to tackle the significant challenges presented by Covid-19 during 2021.
"We should reflect on 2021 with a sense of pride as we emerge from a tough period on sound financial footing, and with some key building blocks in place as we move into a crucial period for the game," Mitchell said.
"Our people have worked incredibly hard to weather the Covid storm and their ability to adapt and be agile as we look to reimagine rugby has been inspiring.
"A key takeaway from the last 12 months was gaining certainty around our professional competitions. We were able to introduce the Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika to see the creation of Super Rugby Pacific, and we cemented the first edition of the ground-breaking Super Rugby Aupiki competition. This certainty creates a framework for driving commercial revenue and value for our stakeholders."
Although cash reserves were maintained at $65m, including a $15m advance from World Rugby on funding for the 2023 men's Rugby World Cup, they were well below NZR's policy target of 50 percent of operating expenses at just 36 percent.
The AGM did not include the members vote on the Silver Lake private equity proposal after the provincial unions asked for more time to assess some key details.
