Chester FC made a loss of £45,672 after tax for the financial year up to May 2018.
In a period that saw the Blues suffer a financial crisis in January of this year and come close to going out of business , the money raised by fans helped the club fight on and the 'special reserve' that had been around £100,000 at the start of last season was severely dented at the start of 2018.
But the accounts of Chester City Supporters' Society Ltd show that the reserve is now back up to £95,000, with the club having £214,604 cash in the bank, up from £150,304 for the previous year.
Fundraising and donations totalled 123,682 for the year, an increase of £96,000 year on year, after fans dug deep to help the club following the January revelations.
Transfer fees came in at £95,000 thanks to money recouped from the remainder of money owed for Sam Hughes following his move to Leicester City and James Alabi's transfer to Tranmere Rovers.
In comparison to the period between 2016/17, staff costs rose significantly year on year from £605,000 to £736,614, while matchday income fell from to £236,026 for the year to May 2018 from £274,000 for the 12 months previous.
Crucially, commercial revenue was down year on year from £164,000 to £159,387 for the year ending May 2018.
Expenditure on the youth team was down from £12,000 to £9,799 for the year to May 2018. The youth team ended the season as National League Alliance under-19 League Cup winners.
