MELBOURNEfc will post a $96,689 profit at its Annual General Meeting, to be held on 17 December this year. The Club has now reported profits for each of the past four years.
MELBOURNEfc has increased its non-AFL revenues and membership by more than the Victorian clubs' average, and cut its $5.5 million debt by 50% in the first three years of its rebuilding strategy, but will post a 2007 profit which is under budget expectations.
CEO Steve Harris said: "The Club is halfway through the strategy to overcome a lengthy period of unsustainable financial performance. There is no doubt 2007 was severely impacted by an extraordinary run of injuries, which impacted player payments and had a negative flow-on through match-day attendances, hospitality and retail.
“Notwithstanding that, we remained committed to ensuring the debt recovery program is not at the overall expense of the competitiveness of the football department and commercial departments. These areas had been financially under-nourished for too long, impacting the ability to generate new revenues and manage the business more effectively.
“We put an additional $500,000 into the football department, and about $800,000 into overdue capital works in our gaming venues, retail store and Junction Oval.
"It remains a delicate balance in a business where 80% of the costs are fixed, but only 30% of the revenues are certain. But, while the profit result for 2007 was less than budgeted, we have laid some important foundations in terms of additional resources in football, because without sustained on-field competitiveness there will not be acceptable business outcomes. We also have to build and implement revenue growth strategies in core and non-core areas, as well as raise the funds to ensure our new training and administration centre in Olympic Park is first-class.
“Our approach has been to seek to achieve improved and sustainable strength on both the team sheet and the balance sheet, as we need both to really succeed.”
Highlights of the financial results were:
- Total revenue 2007 up $ 1.6million, and up $8.4million or 47% since 2003, with club-only revenue up 35%, ahead of the Victorian clubs average.
- Record membership in 2007 of 28,077, up 14% - 3rd highest growth in AFL in 2007 and up 37% since 2003, well ahead of the Victorian club average.
- Debt cut 50% since 2003
- Net asset deficiency reduced by 40% since 2003.
The Club has again worked to overcome what was a long list of legacy issues in business management and performance, and almost zero foundations for the future, and has made continued progress in areas requiring business and financial time and investment.
MELBOURNEfc Chairman Paul Gardner said: "There is no denying that the 2007 results on and off field were off target, but there were some extraordinary player payment issues caused by the unprecedented injuries, and this also impacted a number of key commercial areas. The second half of the season didn’t improve on any front as we’d expected.
"Overall we are over halfway home, in the sense that we are over halfway home to removing unsustainable debt, we have just about got the basics of the football department resourcing right. We have an exciting new management team in place in Dean Bailey and Chris Connolly, and we have laid some key strategic foundations for growth in our commercial areas, including our 150th year, membership, retail, sponsors, China, TEAMelbourne, and gaming.
"We are also over halfway home in the sense that we have building work underway at Olympic Park, where our club operations and social facilities will be united and under one roof for the first time in 25 years, and we are over halfway home in the sense that our key stakeholders, including commercial partners, Melbourne coterie, past players, MCC and AFL are more united and confident in the recovery strategy, and the prospects of MELBOURNEfc moving from a lengthy period of merely trying to survive to one of being truly competitive and sustainable.
“We are making progress all the time, but as we are telling everyone for our 150th year in 2008, with imminently new year, new prospects, new football department and new home under construction, this is the year to be part of it and keep the momentum going."
