THE Port Adelaide Football Club (PAFC) has recorded a surplus in 2009, but only after a large investment from the SANFL.
The SANFL reinvested $3.5 million into the PAFC during 2009, enabling the club to cover a substantial trading deficit.
A $1 million contribution from the AFL’s facility development reserve also boosted the Power’s bottom line, resulting in an end-of-year surplus of $1.57 million.
The bulk of that surplus was applied to debt reduction, with the club reducing its debt by $1.3 million to $3.8 million at the end of the financial year. The club paid a sub-licence fee of $344,000 to the SANFL.
The Power recorded a turnover of $31.85 million during 2009 and had net assets of $10.45 million at the end of the financial year.
Port Adelaide President Brett Duncanson says without the investments from the SANFL and AFL the Power would have recorded a trading deficit of $2.9 million.
Affected by the difficult economic environment, the club recorded a decrease in revenue from corporate partnerships and memberships in 2009, while investment in football increased.
“We would like to thank the SANFL and the AFL for their ongoing commitment to the Port Adelaide Football Club,” Mr Duncanson said. “Their investment back into our business this year has been critical during this difficult global financial period and as we move toward a new business model.”
Mr Duncanson says the club has a well-publicised strategy in place to reduce reliance on one-off payments and put in place new or improved permanent revenue streams.
“The challenge for our club is to move away from requiring one-off payments and to create a business model which directly delivers us sustainable returns year after year,” Mr Duncanson said. “Our strategy has short, medium and long-term elements.”
The club’s key immediate priority and short-term focus is to further increase its membership beyond last season’s 30,600, and boost its brand appeal and crowd numbers.
“This is something we are tackling head-on in conjunction with the SANFL and AFL,” Mr Duncanson said. “Promisingly, memberships for 2010 are currently 50% ahead of the same time last year, with members citing the additions to our coaching staff, our recent draftees and the popular new back-in-black jumper as drivers.
“We will also be looking at ways to build on the ‘back-in-black’ theme and turn AAMI Stadium into a ‘Power cauldron’ over the next four years.”
The club has already set in train a series of key medium-term initiatives to generate greater ongoing revenue, including:
- relocating gaming machines away from Alberton to a more profitable location
- finding community-focused and commercial tenants for the Port Club space
- developing a commercial land footprint at West Lakes, and
- the Northern Territory expansion.
“We believe these medium-term initiatives will add up to $3 million per year to our bottom line within the next few years,” Mr Duncanson said.
In the longer term, the potential move of football to Adelaide Oval will also benefit the club.
“The potential move of football to Adelaide Oval and the associated changes to stadium financial arrangements is another element which should be of major benefit to the Port Adelaide Football Club in the longer-term,” Mr Duncanson said.
“We acknowledge the courageous decision by the SANFL to pursue the Adelaide Oval opportunity to secure the future of football in this state.
“The move to Adelaide Oval should help us with both the stadium return issue and also spectator appeal, but we do not regard that as a ‘silver bullet’.
“We still have significant short-term challenges which we are working on very closely with the SANFL and AFL.”
The Port Club (the club’s associated gaming and restaurant venue) recorded a strongly improved trading result compared to 2008, but after payments to both the PAFC and Port Magpies, as well as a significant provision for doubtful debts, recorded a deficit of $259,000.
The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Port Club on Wednesday 16th December.
