German champions, Bayern Munich may not be doing too well on the pitch but off it, all seems to be in good shape as the club announced during its annual board meeting that it has made profits.
In the 2016/17 season, 117 years after the founding of the club, the FC Bayern München group once again achieved record financial results. The turnover figure for FC Bayern München AG group rose to a new all-time best of €640.5 million. The operating profit (EBITDA) stood at €149.1 million, the profit before tax increased by 22.2 percent to €66.2 million. The profit after tax stood at €39.2 million, an increase of 18.6 percent.
FC Bayern München AG Deputy Chairman Jan-Christian Dreesen said: “Even though lucrative revenue streams were lost compared to previous seasons due to the quarter-final exit from the Champions League and failure to reach the DFB Cup final, FC Bayern München achieved new records with turnover for the group of €640.5 million and operating profit of €149.1 million.”
“The outstanding profit situation and the associated increase in financial power allows FC Bayern to make the investment in our first-team squad necessary to ensure we remain competitive among the professional footballing elite in Europe. Our commercial endeavours primarily serve the single objective of maximising our sporting success.”
Increase in membership
In addition, the gratifying profit situation again permits an increase in dividend payments, according to Dreesen. Following a resolution passed at the annual stockholders’ meeting of the AG on 13 November 2017, shareholders can be delighted with a record dividend of €16.5 million or 55 cents per share. This has resulted in a dividend payment to FC Bayern München eV amounting to €12.375 million.
There was an upward trend in membership too. The figure of 290,000 members as of 24 November 2017 means another increase on last year’s 284,041 for the German record champions, with the number of official fan clubs rising to 4,327 (2016: 4,209). The FC Bayern KidsClub remains very popular, recording an increase to 43,393 members.
“I wish to thank my colleagues on the board, all our staff, the coaching staff and the team, our partners and everybody who has contributed to these record results,” said Dreesen: “Let’s keep it going!” Dreesen added.
