Barcelona’s pre-tax profit in 2022/23 shot up from €124m to an incredible €423m, though this included €800m from the financial levers, which increased €534m from the previous year’s €266m.
Revenue rose €167m (26%) from €639m to €806m, but this was
more than offset by €331m (43%) growth in operating expenses. Player sales
generated a €42m book loss, which was €70m worse than the prior year’s €28m
profit. Net interest payable was slightly higher at €34m.
Barcelona’s reported profit would actually have been even
higher without consolidating the Espai Barca Securitisation Fund used to
finance the new stadium development, which produced a €48m charge.
These accounts clearly benefited from a near €400m gain from
the sale of 15% of the Barcelona’s La Liga TV rights to Sixth Street. This
followed a similar transaction in the previous year, when the club sold 10% of
the rights for €266m.
In total, these sales have delivered €665m, but there’s no
such thing as a free lunch, so the club will have to pay €41m per annum for 25
years.
Barcelona made €15m gain from player sales, but this was
more than offset by €57m losses, as the club desperately offloaded players in
order to reduce the wage bill. The net €42m loss was €70m worse than the previous
year’s €28m profit and is unsurprisingly the worst result in Spain.
In the three years up to 2021/22 Barcelona had one of the
lowest profits from player sales among the European elite, as their €105m was
less than a third of Chelsea’s €340m (and miles below Real Madrid’s €270m).
Barcelona’s marketing and advertising revenue rose €123m
(46%) from €267m to €390m, which is a new club record. This was boosted by 20
new sponsors, including Spotify, Bimbo and Whitebit, which drove sponsorship
income to almost €200m. There were also record merchandising sales, which broke
through the €100m barrier for the first time, as a result of 50% growth.
Barcelona have earned an impressive €444m from Europe in the
last five years, though this was again beaten by Real Madrid’s €527m. Atletico
Madrid were not too far behind with €403m, but there was then a fair gap to
Sevilla €246m and Villarreal €141m.
Barcelona’s gross financial debt very nearly doubled from
€841m to €1,668m, comprising €1,461m bonds, €204m bank loans and €3m other
financial liabilities. This is largely driven by the €1,097m debt taken out for
the Espai Barca development, whihc was organised by Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan
via a series of loans from 20 different investors. Barcelona’s financial debt will now be the
highest in Europe, also overtaking Tottenham’s €1,007m, once again arising from
funding a new stadium.
The good news is that Barcelona have replaced much of their
expensive short-term debt with longer-term debt, e.g. the Espai Barca debt will
be paid progressively at 5, 7, 9, 20 and 24 years, including a grace period.
Barcelona’s reported financial results in the last two years
look great on paper, but if the significant gains from selling off large chunks
of future income were excluded, the reality is that they would have again
posted heavy losses.
That said, there are some encouraging signs to be found in
these accounts, such as the record figures achieved in sponsorship and stadium
revenue, but it’s far too early to say that the club is completely out of the
woods.
However, if the club does manage to achieve the figures in
its budget, the wage bill would then fall to a more manageable level, which
would obviously help to drive a return to sustainability – and without the
benefit of the famous economic levers.
Comments
Post a Comment