CHAIRMAN Kelvin Tho-mas believes increasing Oxford United’s revenue can make significant inroads into the club’s annual losses.

The club recorded a loss of around £800,000 in the year ending June 30 2008, as shareholders were told at yesterday’s annual meeting, but Thomas hopes these can be reduced to between £100,000 and £200,000 next season.

Thomas, U’s manager Chris Wilder, and Michael Good, from auditors Critchleys, addressed the shareholders, discussing the club’s future, and its financial position.

Thomas said he was committed to reducing the loss for the forthcoming season and has taken major steps in this direction while also increasing the club’s asset base.

The success of the Youth Development Benefit Match last week, when more than 2,500 people turned up, means this could become an annual event to help to keep the club’s youth set-up going.

A new kit deal, which will see United wearing a Nike strip from next season, is also a step in the right direction, he said.

Many of the details the shareholders were told about had been outlined in a recent fans’ forum.

The club are aiming to be professional in all ways, to build a winning mentality, and to continue their hard work, with the ultimate aim being for a profitable club playing in the Football League.

Questions were invited from the floor, and the meeting lasted around 45 minutes.

Thomas described it as “a very positive meeting.”

“I think people were pretty complimentary and excited about the atmosphere around the club right now,” said United’s chairman, who said that Wilder was also well received by shareholders following his efforts in getting United very close to the play-offs after a superb run in the second half of the season.

He told the Oxford Mail: “We are looking to reduce our annual loss to between £100,000 and £200,000 essentially through increasing revenue.”

And this would be done, he believed, if United are able to maintain average home gates of around 5,000-5,500, which they were achieving in the last few months of last season.

It was the first annual meeting that Thomas had presided over, after he took over at the helm from Nick Merry partway through last season.

Shareholder Vic Chown said afterwards: “I was quite impressed with Kelvin.

“He seems to have got a clearer mind as to what’s needed and how to achieve it than maybe his predecessor.

“His annual report sounded all right. There are big plans to try to keep the youth teams going, but whether they can only time will tell.

“They’re hoping to hold the Benefit Match once a year, and the 50-50 Draw has been a big boost as well.

“The club are still pursuing ways and means to purchase the stadium, he told us, though in my opnion that’s still some way off.”