Bayern Munich 2017/18 accounts cover a season when they won the Bundesliga (for the sixth season in a row) and reached the Champions League semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual winners Real Madrid. Some thoughts in the following thread #FCBayern

#FCBayern profit before tax fell from €66m to €46m (profit after tax €29m). Revenue (per Bayern’s definition) rose €17m (3%) to a record high of €657m including €28m profit on player sales, mainly Douglas Costa to Juventus. The board described the figures as “outstanding”.

Excluding player sales, #FCBayern revenue rose €41m (7%) from €588m to €629m, mainly due to broadcasting, up €30m (20%) to €177m, though other streams also grew: match day increased €6m (6%) to €104m, while commercial was up €5m (2%) to €349m.

#FCBayern profit on player sales was down €24m from last season’s record €53m. The wage bill surged €38m (14%) from €265m to €303m, while player amortisation increased €7m (10%) to €69m. However, other expenses and depreciation both reduced, by €8m and €2m respectively.

#FCBayern are one of the most profitable clubs in Europe. Indeed, they have the highest profit before tax (€46m) of any of the leading clubs that have published 17/18 accounts to date. Indeed, only #THFC & #AFC beat this figure in 16/17, but both likely to be lower last season.

Furthermore, #FCBayern’s bottom line only benefited from €28m profit on player sales, significantly lower than most other elite clubs, especially Barcelona €208m (Neymar to PSG) and Dortmund €115m (Dembelé to Barcelona & Aubameyang to Arsenal).

Amazingly, this is the 26th consecutive year that #FCBayern have been profitable. In fact, 2018 was the 3rd highest profit in their history, though it was lower than the previous two seasons. Up to this season, profits had been steadily rising (€244m profit in last 5 years).

#FCBayern have become increasingly reliant on player sales with average annual profits rising from just €11m between 2009 and 2013 to €41m in the last 5 years. Next year will include Arturo Vidal to Barcelona, Sebastian Rudy to Schalke and Juan Bernat to PSG.

#FCBayern EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation & Amortisation), which can be considered cash operating profit, increased from €96m to €108m, almost double the €58m in 2014. However, including player sales this fell from a record €149m to €136m.

Excluding player sales, #FCBayern revenue has grown by a third (€155m) in the last 3 years from €474m to €629m, mainly from broadcasting €71m (67%) and commercial €71m (25%) with match day up €14m (16%). Revenue has doubled since the €321m reported in 2011.

Commercial remains the most important revenue stream at #FCBayern with 55%, but this has fallen from 60% in 2014, while broadcasting has grown from 22% to 28% in the same period. Match operations has declined from 18% to 16%.

The #FCBayern revenue advantage over Borussia Dortmund, their closest domestic challenger, increased to €312m in 2017/18, the highest ever gap. In fact, Bayern’s €629m revenue is almost twice as much as Dortmund’s €317m.

#FCBayern have the 4th highest revenue in the world (per Deloitte Money League 2017, based on 2016/17 results), though they were as high as 2nd in 2003/04. There are three other German clubs in the top 30: Borussia Dortmund, Schalke 04 and Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Despite the impressive €41m revenue growth, #FCBayern are likely to remain in 4th place in 2017/18 Money League. In fact, the gap to Real Madrid has further widened, as they grew revenue by even more (€75m). Barcelona are up €42m, while #MUFC down €3m (partly exchange rate).

#FCBayern commercial income grew €5m (2%) to €349m in 2017/18, led by sponsoring and marketing, up €20m to €189m, though there were decreases in merchandising (down €5m to €92m), other commercial activities (down €5m to €34m) and Allianz Arena (down €4m to €33m).

#FCBayern had the highest commercial income of any football club globally in 2016/17 with €343m, ahead of Manchester United €325m, Real Madrid €301m and Barcelona €296m. Closest German clubs are Borussia Dortmund €148m and Schalke 04 €95m.

#FCBayern have an excellent kit deal with Adidas (€60m a year) and good shirt sponsorship agreement with Deutsche Telekom (€35m), though Real Madrid earn almost twice as much: Emirates €70m & Adidas €110m (from 2020). Bayern also get €6m stadium naming rights from Allianz.

Although #FCBayern €35m shirt sponsorship is not as high as the leading Spanish and English clubs, it is clearly the best deal in Germany, ahead of Wolfsburg €25m, Schalke 04 €22m, Borussia Dortmund €20m and RB Leipzig €12m.

#FCBayern broadcasting income rose €30m (20%) from €147m to €177m with increases in both domestic TV (€18m) and Champions League (€12m). In 2016/17 Bayern were only 15th in the Money League in broadcasting, due to the small German TV deal, relative to England and Spain.

#FCBayern Bundesliga TV revenue in 2017/18 was estimated to be €96m by Kicker magazine, unsurprisingly the highest in Germany, ahead of Borussia Dortmund €87m, Schalke €78m and Bayer Leverkusen €77m. Worth noting that RF Leipzig received just €29m, as only recently promoted.

#FCBayern Bundesliga TV revenue growth was due to new 4-year deal from 2017/18 (up 85%). Distributed using 4 criteria: 5-year league performance ranking (70%); 20-year ranking for both divisions (5%); playing time of Germany U23s (2%); and 5-year ranking for both divisions (23%).

In 2017/18 #FCBayern earned €70m for reaching the Champions League semi-finals, €15m more than the previous season, when they only got to the quarter-finals. Other German clubs: RB Leipzig €41m, Borussia Dortmund €31m, Hoffenheim €17m, Cologne €8m and Hertha Berlin €8m.

#FCBayern Champions League revenue included a TV pool payment of €30m, which is on the low side, due to the German TV deal being the smallest of the Big 5 European leagues. As a comparison, Juventus earned €49m from the TV pool, even though they were eliminated a round earlier.

#FCBayern have earned significantly more revenue (€284m) from European competition than any other German club in the last 5 years. The closest challenger is Dortmund with €166m (i.e. €118m lower), followed by Leverkusen €123m, Schalke €80m and Mönchengladbach €64m.

Champions League revenue rises by 54% in 2018/19. There is also a new UEFA coefficient payment (based on performance over 10 years), where #FCBayern has the 3rd highest ranking, guaranteeing them €33m. Will benefit them at the expense of clubs from countries with large TV pools.

#FCBayern match day revenue rose €6m (6%) to €104m in 2017/18. Despite Germany’s reputation for low ticket prices, their match day revenue of €98m in 2016/17 was actually the 5th largest in the world, though Barcelona and Real Madrid both generated around €40m more.

#FCBayern match day €108m revenue is significantly more than #BVB €59m, even though Dortmund’s average attendance of 79,500 is around 4,500 more than Bayern’s 75,000. The Bavarians are in turn higher than Schalke 61,000 and Stuttgart 56,000.

#FCBayern wage bill shot up €38m (14%) from €265m to €303m in 2017/18, which means that wages have risen by a third since 2015, exactly in line with the revenue growth rate. Wages to turnover ratio held in a narrow band between 44% and 49% in last 8 years.

#FCBayern enjoy a major competitive advantage in Germany, as their wage bill of €303m is a hefty €116m (60%) higher than Borussia Dortmund’s €187m. The gap closed to “only” €87m in 2016/17, but widened again last season.

On the international stage, #FCBayern €303m wage bill is the fourth highest in Europe, though the two Spanish giants are miles ahead (Barcelona €487m and Real Madrid €395m), followed by Manchester United €337m.

Despite the increase in wages to turnover ratio from 45% to 48%, #FCBayern have one of the lowest ratios among the leading clubs, only beaten by Tottenham 41% and Arsenal 47%, but significantly better than Barcelona 70% and (domestically) Dortmund 59%.

#FCBayern’s other staff cost, player amortisation, the annual expense to write-down transfer fees, increased €7m (10%) to €69m. reflecting investment in the squad. For context, this is less than half the player amortisation at big spending #MUFC and #MCFC (around €155m).

Although #FCBayern’s gross spend on players has increased in the last 5 years (compared to preceding 5 years) from €274m to €338m, net spend has greatly reduced from €199m to €87m, due to sales rising from €74m to €251m.

Traditionally, #FCBayern spend much more on players than their German rivals, but their €33m net spend over the last 3 seasons is actually behind both RB Leipzig €80m and Wolfsburg €33m, though considerably more than Dortmund’s €106m net sales.

On a gross basis, it’s a different story with Dortmund €306m over €100m more than #FCBayern €197m, followed by Wolfsburg €193m & RB Leipzig €177m. However chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge noted, there’s “no question the face of our team will change, next summer at the latest.”

#FCBayern bank debt (to finance stadium) was paid off 16 years ahead of schedule in 2014, having been as high as €167m in 2009, while cash balances have risen from €40m to €200m. We will not know 2018 figure until full accounts released, but current assets around same level.

Using the broadest definition of debt, #FCBayern total liabilities are only €280m, which is one of the lowest of the leading European clubs. Manchester United are almost €1 bln higher at €,1234m, followed by Juventus & Tottenham (€700m), then Real Madrid & Arsenal (€600m).

#FCBayern cash balance of €200m is the 4th highest in Europe, only behind Manchester United €276m, Tottenham €233m and Arsenal €210m. However, they are likely to overtake both North London clubs in 2018 (#THFC will reduce due to new stadium, #AFC for operational reasons).

#FCBayern have been boosted by strategic partnerships with 3 major German companies (Adidas, Allianz & Audi), who all have an 8.33% stake in the club with the other 75% owned by the fans. Dividends to these shareholders have steadily risen, though down from €16m to €12m in 2018

Although #FCBayern admitted there is “room for improvement “in this season’s Bundesliga campaign, the club’s “ever-increasing financial power allows us to make the necessary investment in our first-team squad to ensure we remain competitive among the footballing elite in Europe.”