Above-budget spending on litigation and investigations did not prevent the World Anti-Doping Agency from reporting a surplus for what was a difficult 2017 ©Getty Images

Above-budget spending on litigation and investigations did not prevent the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from reporting a surplus for what was a difficult 2017.

As the Montreal-based body continued to grapple with the fallout from the Russian doping crisis, it managed an excess of income over expenses of $2.57 million (£1.96 million/€2.23 million), a sharp improvement on the $700,000-plus (£530,000/€600,000) deficit of the previous year.

A jump in income to well above the $30 million mark - $31.96 million (£24.4 million/€27.7 million) to be precise, was partly responsible, but the agency was also helped by an increased currency exchange gain and the absence of writedowns after the $1.35 million (£1.03 million/€1.17 million) recorded in 2016. 

WADA has now entered an era of successive eight-per-cent-per-annum funding hikes, after stakeholders finally acted on repeated urging that more resources were needed if the fight against doping was to be prosecuted more effectively.

However, it last month ran the gauntlet of criticism, particularly from athletes, after deciding to reinstate the Russian Anti-Doping Agency after a suspension of nearly three years.

The new annual report explained that litigation costs exceeded budget by 12 per cent, while the "outcomes of the McLaren investigation and the pursuant follow-up exceeded budgeted levels by 30 per cent".

A jump in income to well above the $30 million mark has been reported ©Getty Images
A jump in income to well above the $30 million mark has been reported ©Getty Images

The start-up of in-house investigations together with the "Speak Up!" digital whistleblower platform were said together to have exceeded budget by 33 per cent.

Personnel costs rose quite sharply to $12.35 million (£9.42 million/€10.7 million) from under $11 million (£8.4 million/€9.5 million) as employee numbers climbed from 89 to 98.

The 13 WADA directors received overall compensation of $3.58 million (£2.7 million/€3.1 million), equivalent to about $275,000 (£210,000/€240,000) each on average.

President Sir Craig Reedie is not remunerated by WADA, but does receive expenses.

The agency is broadly funded half by sport and half by public authorities.

By the end of the calendar year, the public sector had paid fractionally under 98 per cent of its dues, with the collection rate for Europe slipping below 99 per cent for the first time in recent years.

The remittance rate for Africa, which stood at less than 54 per cent in 2014, continued to improve, reaching just under 69 per cent.