The Adelaide Football Club has tonight reported a cash operating profit of $1,464,450 for the 2016 financial year.
The result reflects improvements made across the entire organisation, including membership, home match attendances and corporate sponsorship reaching record levels.
Importantly, the ongoing growth has allowed greater investment in the football program and community initiatives
Crows Chairman Rob Chapman addressed the Club’s Annual Members Meeting and detailed the strong off-field performance including:
Record membership of more than 67,000
Highest average home match attendance in AFL
Record revenue of $48.3m
Doubling the investment into community programs
Schools program Growing with Gratitude engaging with more than 50,000 students
Fastest growing social media platform in the AFL
There were also payments totaling $4.3m to the SANFL, AFL and South Australian Government, making our Club a significant contributor to the football economy.
The operating profit also takes into account the financial impact, equating to $244,640, from former apparel sponsor BLK going into administration late last year.
Taking into account abnormal and non-cash items the Club’s statutory loss was $1,346,077. Included in this figure was depreciation of $1.347m, recognition of our game development grant of $1.1m and other distributions to stakeholders totaling $0.36m.
Chapman highlighted the passion and dedication of the members who are the backbone of the Club.
“We operate in an increasingly challenging environment and our off-field results speak volumes of our members and fans who offer unwavering support,” Chapman said.
“There has been improvement across each and every area of our operations, as well as back-to-back finals appearances, and those supporters should take comfort knowing the Club is in a strong position.”
Crows Chief Executive Andrew Fagan forecast further growth in 2017.
“We have a highly motivated group of players, coaches and staff who deserve praise for their continued commitment to making this Club better,” Fagan said.
