Waisake Naholo© (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

New Zealand Rugby posted a loss of $NZL463,000 ($316,000, $Aus413,000) in 2015, primarily as a result of fewer home Tests in a Rugby World Cup year while investing more heavily in local and provincial rugby.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Steve Tew said the loss was less than the union had budgeted and reflected "a deliberate decision to continue investing in the organisation's strategic priorities including winning back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles".

"We are very proud of what we achieved in 2015," Tew said in a statement released by the union.

"We supported the All Blacks in their goal of winning the World Cup away from home, including the historic Test in Samoa which kicked off their successful campaign. We also increased resourcing for the All Blacks Sevens and New Zealand Women's Sevens teams as they build towards the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro."

Tew noted that a Rugby World Cup year always saw reduced income because of a more limited Test calendar.

The All Blacks played just two home Tests in 2015, against Argentina in Christchurch and Australia in Auckland, compared with six in 2014 against the Pumas, the Wallabies, South Africa and a blockbuster three-match series against England.

As a result, Tew said in the New Zealand Rugby statement, Test match revenue was $NZL12 million lower than in 2015 than in 2014.

"While we received significant compensation from World Rugby for the lost Test match revenue, this does not fully offset the loss of potential commercial revenue in a normal year," Tew said.

Tew said that some sponsors were unwilling to pay so much as in a normal year because "they're not able to leverage their partnerships to the same degree with fewer Tests in a Rugby World Cup year". But he still announced "record revenue of $NZL133.7 million, up from $120.8 million in 2014" that "reflected the World Rugby compensation, new sponsorship agreements, along with World Cup-related licensing income and bonuses".

Against those profits, New Zealand Rugby invested $NZL134.3 million across the game, compared with $NZL120.2 million in 2014, while reporting losses on the Wellington Sevens at the start of the year.

The increased investment in New Zealand rugby, Tew said, included support for teenage and women's rugby and increased funding for the provincial unions in order to better grow the game.

Tew announced also the New Zealand Rugby would increase funding for the 26 provincial unions and five Super Rugby franchise again, by a minimum of 30 percent for each union until 2020, saying the union was budgeting for a "significant loss for 2016" because some of the money would be derived from future income.

"Next year the British & Irish Lions visit for the first time in 12 years ... we'll be working hard to balance our revenue objectives while ensuring we structure the tour so as many New Zealanders as possible can get to see the drama and excitement that is unique to a Lions tour."