New York (AFP)
The Metropolitan Museum of New York, one of the few major museums in the world to publish its accounts, recorded a slight loss on its 2018-19, but intends to reach the balance in 2019-20, which would be a first since 2012.
The Met closed its annual accounts at the end of June on an operating loss of 1.9 million dollars, significantly reduced compared to the previous year (-8.2 million).
The recovery in accounts, which began in 2016, is partly due to the 14% increase in box office receipts, directly related to the introduction of a mandatory $ 25 fee for non-resident New York adult visitors.
Ticket sales, however, represent only 14% of the institution's budget, much less than shop, restaurant and car park revenues (22%) or the contribution of the Met reserve fund (20.8%). ).
The museum has considerable financial reserves, which reached $ 2.6 billion as of June 30, the closing date of fiscal year 2018-19.
In the past year, the Met has recorded $ 211.5 million in donations or pledges, a record, according to the annual report released Wednesday.
The museum is aiming for a return to operating profit in 2019-20, he says in the annual report, which he has not seen in seven years.
"The Met is in a much stronger financial position than in 2016," said the management, "and we are ready to return to our long-term goals, investment in programs, our teams and our infrastructure."
The museum has already launched several renovation projects, including the South Wing, which houses collections of objects from Africa, Oceania and Latin America.
© 2019 AFP