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Operating profit at the state-owned crown research institutes bounced back last year, according to Statistics New Zealand.
Total income for the year ending June 30 at the nine institutes - including AgResearch, Landcare Research New Zealand and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research - was $600.7 million up from $573 million last year.
Operating profit was $16.7 million, up from the previous year's $3.7 million, which had been affected by an increase in operating expenses outstripping income growth.
But net profit dropped to $11.2 million compared to $18.8 million the previous year.
Government statistician, Geoff Bascand said lower net income from profit on the sale of fixed assets and extraordinary items resulted in a drop in the collective surplus before tax.
The institutes are surveyed each quarter.
