Vanuatu's government has announced that it ended 2015 with a US$4.5 million fiscal surplus.
The Daily Post reported that according to the Treasury, the government achieved a surplus for each of the past three years.
The finance minister, Gaetan Pikioune, told the newspaper that despite a challenging 2015, the government was able to start the next fiscal year with a strong financial buffer.
Mr Pikioune says 2015 was a difficult year because Cyclone Pam damaged much of the country in March, and because of the El Niño and a declining service sector in Efate.
But he said careful financial management and support of donor countries and organisations helped the country through the period, on top of increased spending for reconstruction which helped raise tax revenue.
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