When it’s the national team break, it’s time for Oliver Frankenbach at Eintracht Frankfurt. “ZDF” (numbers, data, facts) – that is the internal nickname of the Frankfurt CFO. On Thursday, Frankenbach stated that he “formally did not hold a balance sheet press conference”, but presented “seasonal key figures” in the World Cup arena. According to him, the Bundesliga club achieved sales of 160.4 in the past 2020/2021 season Achieve millions of euros. A season before that, it was 278.1 million euros, a record result at the time before the corona pandemic came and had a correspondingly negative impact on the business result.
In the past season, the loss after taxes was 36.1 million euros. In the 2019/2020 season, Eintracht had a profit after taxes of 18.7 million euros. The bottom line is that, according to Frankenbach, the Frankfurters accumulated losses from the corona pandemic of 45 million euros. With regard to the current season, the experienced financial expert firmly assumes that we will be able to increase the revenues again. Eintracht is targeting 200 million euros.
What is good for Hessen in difficult times in national competition: Compared to the other top division clubs, the Frankfurters are among “the top six clubs” in terms of economic stability, said Frankenbach. In order to be able to “cushion” the macroeconomic consequences of the corona pandemic, it is “essential for all Bundesliga clubs that we gradually open the stadiums again”. Before this season Frankfurt had made a “careful calculation on the basis of a sixty percent capacity utilization for the stadium,” the CFO explained the planning Million Euros.”
It takes 25,000 spectators
In the 2019/2020 season, the income from home game operations (ticketing and hospitality) still amounted to 38.6 million euros. One lap later it was only half a million euros. According to Frankenbach, 25,000 spectators are needed in the World Cup arena “so that you can practically even begin to generate income”. 40,000 spectators are admitted to the home game against Hertha BSC on Saturday in a week.
Eintracht’s equity has shrunk from 53.4 million euros (2019/2020 season) to 39 million euros in the past season. With the cushion added in the past as well as the equity capital measure completed in April 2021 and the inclusion of a further shareholder, the “experienced losses could have been cushioned relatively unscathed,” said Frankenbach.
Get free access to all articles on FAZ.NET for 30 days with F +.
READ F + NOW
Another loss in the order of 30 million euros would, in his words, “lead to a further reduction in equity and further borrowing. And if you have to borrow between 20 and 30 million euros, then you have to see how you can bring that back in the coming years. ”That would“ certainly keep us busy for the next five years, ”said the CFO.
Eintracht’s financial debts have increased – from 37.2 million euros (2019/2020 season) to 46.3 million euros (2020/2021). This can be traced back to “in addition to the ongoing construction of the ProfiCamp” also to the “raising of operationally necessary external funds”. The Frankfurt company, on the other hand, was able to significantly reduce operating expenses through measures such as cost savings and waiver of wages: after 242.5 million euros in the previous season, it was only 194.8 million euros in the past season. “That let us cushion the losses to some extent, otherwise they would have been much bigger,” said Frankenbach.
From Eintracht’s point of view, the strengthening of its own marketing is positive. In the advertising sector, the Frankfurt-based company achieved an increase in sales from 24.7 million euros to 31.8 million euros. This shows that the steps into self-marketing and the operation of the stadium made strategic and economic sense, is the Frankfurt self-assessment.
.
