Oxford United's losses were slashed dramatically last year, shareholders will be told at the club's 53rd annual general meeting next Thursday.

The club recorded an operating profit of £89,331 for the year ended June 30, 2002, compared to an operating loss of £325,000 for the previous 12 months.

And after players' dealings and interest costs were taken into account, the loss was £116,783, compared to a loss of £783,578 for the previous year.

The wage bill was slashed, with the number of playing staff, including managers and team coaches, cut by five to 42, and the number of administration and marketing staff reduced by four to 11.

This meant employment costs for the company were down from £2.2m to under £1.9m.

Chairman Firoz Kassam said 2002-3, the club's second year at the Kassam Stadium, "was quite satisfactory", with the FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal the highlight.

The AGM takes place at the Kassam Stadium at 10.30am on Thursday, February 26.