Cost-cutting measures, a decrease in large projects and new investments led the Maltese Curia to record a profit of €114,279 last year, the first in three years, financial controller Robert Agius said.

Outlining the figures listed in the financial report for 2011, Mr Agius said income reached €24.7m, marking a slight increase compared to 2010 when income stood at €24.5m.

While donations dropped to €7.7m from €8.5m, there was an increase in “other income” that rose to €6.5m from €5.5m. This included money collected through fundraising from Id-Dar Tal-Providenza as well as salary grants that increased given that more teachers were employed at the new Archbishop’s Seminary.

Expenditure stood at €24.9m, a drop compared with the €26.2m registered in 2010, when over €1m were spent on the visit of Pope Benedict XVI in April that year.

The biggest expenses remained the salaries of lay employees and priests and operational costs, which were similar to previous years, Mr Agius said during a press conference held at Fra Diegu children’s home in Ħamrun, which houses 10 children between the ages of two and 16. Last year, the Curia paid almost €939,000 in taxes, a sharp increase compared to the €391,000 paid in 2010. This was due to deferred taxes that were piled onto the year 2011.

There was also an increase in donations made by the Church that reached almost €487,000, including €189,000 that was spent on the anti-divorce campaign.

Mr Agius said that, in the previous three years, the Curia had registered a loss, the largest being last year with a deficit of €1.7m due to the papal visit.

To change the trend, several cost-cutting initiatives were taken. The Curia made a capital gain on investments of €267,665 compared to €3,602 the year before. Most arose from the sale of Malta Government stocks, which were reinvested in APS Bank.

Large savings were made in utility bills by simply making elderly homes, which were registered under residential schemes, non-residential.

Despite the surplus, Mr Agius added, the Church’s central fund had to pay €1.6m to help various entities, including residential homes, to make ends meet.

Last year, the central fund dished out €199,475 to children’s homes, he said, adding that such homes had operated at a net deficit of €148,000 last year.