AIK Fotboll (AIK) Q4 2018 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Allsvenskan title and record home attendance of 23,664 per match coincided with a sharp decline in consolidated earnings, driven mainly by lower player-transfer income.

• Merchandise, match and event sales, and sponsorship each reached record levels, helping non-transfer operating performance improve year over year.

Financial highlights

• FY2018 consolidated revenue was SEK 161.3m, down from SEK 215.4m; player-sale revenue fell SEK 88.2m while other operating revenue increased SEK 34.0m.

• Operating result was -SEK 20.4m versus SEK 58.5m; net result was -SEK 16.9m versus SEK 45.9m.

• Transfer net was -SEK 6.1m versus SEK 78.3m; operating result included a SEK 2.0m one-time charge for retroactive pension contributions.

• Match and event revenue rose to SEK 62.8m from SEK 45.8m; sponsorship and advertising increased to SEK 36.3m from SEK 28.2m.

• Merchandise revenue reached SEK 28.9m versus SEK 15.7m; the merchandise business reported SEK 5.2m operating profit versus a SEK 2.8m loss.

Outlook and guidance

• FY2019 budgeting assumes the men’s team finishes in the Allsvenskan top three and the women’s team plays in Elitettan; the men’s team qualified for UEFA Champions League qualifying.

• Longer-term sponsor agreements, digital initiatives, CSR activity and the new shop location were expected to support further market revenue growth and sustain merchandise sales at a higher level.

• Year-card sales for 2019 had reached SEK 15.8m by year-end 2018, compared with SEK 6.4m at the prior year-end.

• The January 2019 sale of Kristoffer Olsson to FC Krasnodar was classified as a Class V transfer, indicating a positive result effect of SEK 20–40m and capacity for squad investment.