The English Rugby Football Union, boosted by England's World Cup success, yesterday announced profits of £13.5 million for the year ending June 30th.

The timing of the Rugby World Cup in October and November last year meant the RFU had to forego an estimated £5.6 million in match revenue from the traditional autumn Tests.

And with England playing only two home matches in the Six Nations, the RFU's coffers took another blow to the tune of £2.7 million.

But the demand in both the commercial and hospitality sectors rocketed on the back of England triumph over Australia in Sydney last November and helped the RFU claw back most of the shortfall.

Despite the loss of significant match revenue, the RFU's turnover of £71.3 million for 2003/04 "broadly matched" the previous year's record turnover of £72.4 million.

Revenue in the RFU's Rugby Store rose by over 90 per cent to £7.7 million, including sales of £1.7 million in December 2003, the month after England's World Cup triumph.

The RFU's hospitality business also rose dramatically, with 4,200 packages sold for the England's Six Nations game against Ireland compared to 2,706 for the same fixture in 2002.

The RFU also received over £600,000 for hosting concerts by the Rolling Stones in August and September last year, and a similar amount from the growing ranks of the England Rugby Supporters Club.

Francis Baron, chief executive of the RFU, said: "I made it very clear at the beginning of 2003 that while there are significant benefits associated with participating in and winning the Rugby World Cup it would also have an effect on our finances.

"It has done so largely through a loss in ticket revenue at Twickenham and there have been financial difficulties experienced by other governing bodies in the Northern Hemisphere as a result of the timing of the tournament.

"These difficulties have been largely compensated for, not only by our commercial and hospitality businesses but through the efforts of everyone at the RFU.

"The benefits of winning the tournament can be seen in increases in merchandise sales, membership of ERSC and the delivery of extra revenue courtesy of the match against the New Zealand Barbarians.

"I fully expect that our new sponsorship deals will generate increases of around 20 per cent plus per deal in the future."

The RFU's merchandising and licensing revenues more than doubled from £5 million to £10.7 million while sponsorship revenue rose from £10.8 million to £11.1 million. And with Twickenham hosting last year's final, the RFU received £350,000 from the Heineken European Cup.