LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas built a $357 million surplus for the fiscal year that ended this week, beating officials’ original predictions by $23.7 million, state finance officials said Thursday.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration reported that the state’s net available revenue for the fiscal year that ended Tuesday came to $4.4 billion. That’s $23.7 million above predictions.

In June, though, the state’s revenue fell below last year’s level and was below forecasts.

DFA director Richard Weiss said the drop indicates that the state is going to face a tighter cash flow over the next six months. He said, however, that he doesn’t see a need to change the forecast for the fiscal year.

“The outlook is not great,” Weiss told reporters.

State finance officials told lawmakers earlier this year that the state was expected to build a $310 million surplus, a third of which lawmakers set aside to pay for expected shortfalls in this year’s budget. The $357 million total surplus includes interest that had accumulated over the year, state budget administrator Mike Stormes said.

Lawmakers also set aside $60 million from the surplus for the House and Senate to use for various projects and programs, while Gov. Mike Beebe has $63 million to use at his discretion for programs.

Beebe said the surplus the state starts the year with is significant when compared to the budget problems that other states are facing.

“That doesn’t sound like a big deal until you look at all the other states having the difficulties that they’re having,” Beebe said on his call-in radio show Thursday morning.

The June figures, however, indicated a bleaker picture for the state in the coming months. Net available revenue totaled $435 million — $55.9 million below last year and $20.4 million below predictions.

Sales tax collections totaled $158.1 million, which was $22.6 million below last year and $22.2 million below forecast. Individual income tax collections totaled $231.2 million, which was $31.2 million below last year’s figures and $26.2 million below forecast.

The state began its fiscal year Wednesday with two major tax cuts taking effect, a 1 cent cut in the sales tax on groceries and a cut in the tax that manufacturers pay on utilities.