The Geelong Football Club has announced a net profit of $2.3 million for the 2016 financial year.
The club’s net asset position improved by 28.6% to $9.9 million and revenue increased by 10% to $54.6 million.
The major factors in the financial outcome include:
* The club's continued investment in the football department, with total outlay rising by $1 million to $23.2 million.
* An increase in profit from the club's commercial operations, with profit rising by 3% to $20.1 million. This is largely due to increases in sponsorship and membership. The club achieved a 13% rise in membership to 52,195.
* Home attendance (including home games at the MCG and Etihad Stadium) increased from 29,127 to 30,497.
* The “Our Ambition’ fundraising campaign was a success, generating significant funds that will be applied now and into the future.
"While we are pleased with the overall result, this was a challenging year for the club," Geelong chief executive Brian Cook said.
“There are a number of factors that have contributed to this result.
“The ‘Our Ambition’ fundraising campaign was a huge success, with over $16 million committed to the club in the next five years.
“This will see the club have the best football administration and training facilities in the AFL, and the club’s debt, mainly resulting from the four redevelopments of Simonds Stadium, completely extinguished in the coming years.
“Our record membership was a tribute to our loyal and passionate supporter base that continues to follow the club.
“We are expecting a further increase in membership in 2017, and the renewals to date are tracking ahead of the same time last year.
"Our corporate returns will continue to rise in 2017, with GMHBA and Cotton On recently agreeing to new partnerships with the club.
“The AFL’s new equalisation policy saw us contribute $390,000 to the pool that was distributed to our competitors.
“Our club has long supported equalisation, however we are pleased that the current model has been reviewed and will be changed in 2017.
“We have invested heavily into Simonds Stadium and we are thrilled that stage four of the redevelopment is on target to be completed on time.
“This project has placed pressure on our finances but will set the club up for long-term success.
“We are excited to host the Bulldogs on May 19, 2017 to open the new Brownlow Stand.
“We are also committed to making a significant and meaningful difference in our community.
“The club invested significantly into its community programs in 2016 and will again focus on our community impact in 2017.
“The requirement for ongoing innovation and improvement across all areas of our business is critical to ensuring the long-term success of the club.
“We are continually looking for new ways to grow our revenue and contain expenses so that we can continue to be well placed financially in a competitive environment that is changing at an unprecedented rate.
“The club continually reviews the objectives and strategies within its business plan to ensure that we have the strategic framework in place to meet challenges and to be successful and sustainable in the long term.
“We would like to thank our members for their continued support of the club. There is an emotional and financial investment in being a member and we understand that. We do not take it for granted and seek to provide a return on that investment.
“We will be doing everything we can to compete for the premiership in 2017, while maintaining our standards and perspective in the way we go about our business."
To view the Geelong Cats 2016 Annual Report and Annual General Meeting notice CLICK HERE.
