Official Club Stuff Port announce operating profit of $3.157M

[Coobk001]

2) Whilst our numbers are trending in the right direction, they are doing so in the context of all other clubs doing the same. You don't hear of any clubs in financial crisis like you did in the past. All clubs have massive membership numbers, most are debt free or close to debt free and most are turning profits each year. We are a middle of the pack club financially and it's not a particularly special achievement.

It appears everyone 'leaned' up during covid and has been able to ride the profitability wave post that. Definitely agree with the sentiment though.

We're a well run business, we're returning profits as we should, but yeah relatively we're sitting where we always have.

Now the focus needs to be on growing our share, and being successful on the damn field.

 

[El_Scorcho]

There's no denying that all of the numbers are trending in the right direction. We are generating profits, paying down debt, revenue continually moving higher.

My biggest concerns are:

1) Revenue growth in the last couple of years has largely been derived from membership price increases. Whilst from a purely financial perspective this is fine and indicates a sticky product, it does make all of the 'Thank You True Believers!' and similar propaganda somewhat awkward. We are customers. Woolworths increase their prices to protect their margins but they don't call me a 'True Believer'. Make no mistake, in the absence of other significant costs of doing business, the price increase on your membership is predominantly to fund their pay rises.

2) Whilst our numbers are trending in the right direction, they are doing so in the context of all other clubs doing the same. You don't hear of any clubs in financial crisis like you did in the past. All clubs have massive membership numbers, most are debt free or close to debt free and most are turning profits each year. We are a middle of the pack club financially and it's not a particularly special achievement.

Yep.

Despite all these membership records tumbling every year, we're 10th on the membership ladder. We were 6th in 2015.

I'd absolutely love to see a membership revenue ladder over time.

 

[JimmyBC]

The membership figures are becoming a faux rating if they are all combining AFLW figures.

We had more members than Carlton in 2014 they are such dodgy numbers.

 

[El_Scorcho]

The membership figures are becoming a faux rating if they are all combining AFLW figures.

We had more members than Carlton in 2014 they are such dodgy numbers.

We know for a fact they emailed finbarr (I think?) asking if he wanted a free membership, and then when he didn't reply sent him another email thanking him for coming on board.

The numbers are a complete lie across the entire league, designed purely to push to sponsors. Attendances a far better indicator and we're well down on what we had in 2014 and even down on 2016/17

 

[JimmyBC]

We know for a fact they emailed finbarr (I think?) asking if he wanted a free membership, and then when he didn't reply sent him another email thanking him for coming on board.

The numbers are a complete lie across the entire league, designed purely to push to sponsors. Attendances a far better indicator and we're well down on what we had in 2014 and even down on 2016/17

Our crowds are solid but to get back to 2014 levels you need to win silverware & stop gaslighting the supporter base.

 

[Andre]

2) Whilst our numbers are trending in the right direction, they are doing so in the context of all other clubs doing the same. You don't hear of any clubs in financial crisis like you did in the past. All clubs have massive membership numbers, most are debt free or close to debt free and most are turning profits each year. We are a middle of the pack club financially and it's not a particularly special achievement.

We've drifted down the Membership ladder since 2014. A rising tide lifts all ships, from increased TV rights and distributions, but we've been lifted less than other clubs. With much of the revenue outside the clubs control, the part you can give them a rating on is, have we improved, not just absolutely, but relatively to other clubs? The first is a yes, the second a no. Happy clappers won't dig into it, but it shows, despite a profit, there's a lot of revenue just waiting to be tapped, except for the elephant in the room keeping it out of the clubs coffers.

Forget on-field, if we'd ditched Hinkley after the 2021 shit show (yes it should have been after 2017 really), the club would have already brought in enough extra money from memberships (and from memberships then increased sponsor money), to be in the black before this year.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Yep.

Despite all these membership records tumbling every year, we're 10th on the membership ladder. We were 6th in 2015.

I'd absolutely love to see a membership revenue ladder over time.

Unless the AFL manadate it or make public more consistent figures the table below is about as good as it gets.

During the 2024 season I slowly put all revenue items for all clubs for 2022 and 2023 into a spreadsheet. Below is a portion of my revenue and balance sheet items spreadsheet.

Did some other stuff as well around Facilities capital grants expenditure and did an EBIT type table, but it was Earnings (ie profit) before Interest paid, Interest received, Capital Gains/Asset Impairments, Tax, Depreciation, Amortisation, Government and other grants, and Asset revaluation and reconciled that to statutory profits.

From last year's AGM Notes I took

* Core business revenue was up $2.8m on 2022 and $7.2m on 2021.

*Membership and ticketing up $1.3m to $16.5m
*Commercial partnerships.. up $1.7m to $15.7m
*Retail Merchandise .......... up $0.6m to $2.65m Koch said this is top 4, but I reckon its top 4 when you take out the premiership side.
There is another $700k that meets the definition of core business revenue that Koch did put up on his slide.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Our crowds are solid but to get back to 2014 levels you need to win silverware & stop gaslighting the supporter base.

Crowds you can only really compare to your own previous marks due to stadium sizes and the complete myth that is Victorians are sports mad.

But to have finished 2nd and average 7000 attendees less than a decade ago is proof that we're a disengaged supporter base. Where do the club think those attendees are?

 

[Spadge]

As with everything to do with this club, it feels like we've been hearing the same message for a decade.

Debt reduction aside, how is anything about our club improved from the end of 2014?

Financially stable, mid table off field. Stable on the field with no dramatic ups or downs - mid table to slightly above mid table the entire time.

Same Chairman, half the board the same, CEO promoted from within, same football manager, same recruiting team, same senior coach.

It's all the same people delivering the same messages and we never seem to get closer to actually winning anything.

STABILITY!

 

[VineValerian]

STABILITY!

INERTIA

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

The thing that gets lost in all this how good are we doing or should have done, is given that Adelaide have been ratshit since their GF failure and their post camp BS, not playing in finals for 7 seasons, and that we have in 4 of them and finished top 4 every time and made 3 PFs, is that if we had won a flag or two since start of 2020 season, imagine the impact on kids in Adelaide and SA and who they support, on corporates wanting to be involved with us and the media attention on our success.

We could have made some real impact into their holding of the majority of footy "pie" in SA and taken a nice chunk away from them. But near enough is good enough permeates our thinking and we have missed a golden opportunity.

 

[Coobk001]

Yep, I'd love to see at the AGM, someone call out our revenue, crowd and membership numbers relativity to our opposition over the last few years. Especially our crowd decline since 2014.

For a side that's been up, we're not turning that into anything. We all know the reason why, and they'll never admit it, but supporting Port is not a sexy thing to do at the moment. We have no momentum off or on field at all. Just consistent, stale, better than average results.

The rise and momentum of 2014 is such a long way in the rear view mirror now.




Take out the Covid 2020-2022, and we've basically decreased our crowd numbers every year since 2014.

The atmosphere at our games is also incredibly dead now. I miss the excitement.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Attendances as a percentage of memberships would make it look even worse and should be a big concern.

 

[JimmyBC]

Yep, I'd love to see at the AGM, someone call out our revenue, crowd and membership numbers relativity to our opposition over the last few years. Especially our crowd decline since 2014.

For a side that's been up, we're not turning that into anything. We all know the reason why, and they'll never admit it, but supporting Port is not a sexy thing to do at the moment. We have no momentum off or on field at all. Just consistent, stale, better than average results.

The rise and momentum of 2014 is such a long way in the rear view mirror now.

View attachment 2182283


Take out the Covid 2020-2022, and we've basically decreased our crowd numbers every year since 2014.

The atmosphere at our games is also incredibly dead now. I miss the excitement.

I reckon you'd get it was the shiny new AO effect in 2014/15 & the numbers now are a truer reflection response.

Like everything else they aim low & are happy embracing the 'little club from alberton' ceiling.

 

[Andre]

The thing that gets lost in all this how good are we doing or should have done, is given that Adelaide have been ratshit since their GF failure and their post camp BS, not playing in finals for 7 seasons, and that we have in 4 of them and finished top 4 every time and made 3 PFs, is that if we had won a flag or two since start of 2020 season, imagine the impact on kids in Adelaide and SA and who they support, on corporates wanting to be involved with us and the media attention on our success.

We could have made some real impact into their holding of the majority of footy "pie" in SA and taken a nice chunk away from them. But near enough is good enough permeates our thinking and we have missed a golden opportunity.

Port, IMO, have had three real chances to take over from Adelaide as the 'default' club for new supporters and for sponsors. 2005 after our flag, 2015 after the move to AO and playing the, almost universally recognised', most enjoyable football to watch and post the 2017 GF.

Only 2005 can I forgive the club, as they were hamstrung by the SANFL. 2015 and 2018 onwards, Port have had the foot on Adelaide's proverbial throat, took out the gun, taken the foot off and then shot themselves in the foot instead.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Port, IMO, have had three real chances to take over from Adelaide as the 'default' club for new supporters and for sponsors. 2005 after our flag, 2015 after the move to AO and playing the, almost universally recognised', most enjoyable football to watch and post the 2017 GF.

Only 2005 can I forgive the club, as they were hamstrung by the SANFL. 2015 and 2018 onwards, Port have had the foot on Adelaide's proverbial throat, took out the gun, taken the foot off and then shot themselves in the foot instead.

After the 2004 flag, Neil Craig quickly turned the crows around and they finished top in 2005 and 2nd in 2006. So it wasn't like they were cellar dwellers and we missed a huge opportunity.

Plus Craig brought the Oatey/Sturt/Norwood hatred of Port and used that to make sure the crows didn't fall behind us after a terrible 2004.

2015 we got ahead of ourselves, a kick a way from a flag mentality, when there was no certainty to anything if we beat the Hawks. We defiantly stuffed up an opportunity, but the crows were building and the murder of Phil Walsh galvanized the players and club, after he had made a significant impact in a short period. It drove them in 2016 and 2017. Then their GF capitulation and the camp BS opened up the door.

But the last 7 years we have had no competition from the crows to hammer home our advantage. We have only partially been able to take advantage of their poor performances.

 

[Rexie J]

Port have failed dismally in gaining any meaningful traction in all forms of media be it print, tv or radio.

Rucci is embarrassing and the in-house stuff is cringeworthy.

 

[Andre]

But the last 7 years we have had no competition from the crows to hammer home our advantage. We have only partially been able to take advantage of their poor performances.

I'd say it's worse than that. The club's used Adelaide being so shit, to effectively lower the pass mark to 'better than Adelaide'. The irony we used to mock Adelaide fans for only caring about beating us, for the club to unofficially make beating them the club motto. I want Adelaide to do well out the gate next year. I hate them, but only Port not doing well AND Adelaide above us, will get the happy clapper masses stirred up enough to join the rest of us in making the pressure on Hinkley unbearable.

 

[PeacefulWarrior]

We know for a fact they emailed finbarr (I think?) asking if he wanted a free membership, and then when he didn't reply sent him another email thanking him for coming on board.

The numbers are a complete lie across the entire league, designed purely to push to sponsors. Attendances a far better indicator and we're well down on what we had in 2014 and even down on 2016/17

That’s assuming what he said was fact.

 

[chachi11]

I reckon you'd get it was the shiny new AO effect in 2014/15 & the numbers now are a truer reflection response.

Like everything else they aim low & are happy embracing the 'little club from alberton' ceiling.

We had a shiny new coach as well with a shit tonne of optimism.

 

[JimmyBC]

We had a shiny new coach as well with a shit tonne of optimism.

Can we do that again one day Daddy?

 

[El_Scorcho]

That’s assuming what he said was fact.

Based on the massively inflated membership numbers over the last decade despite our attendances going down significantly, I don't have any reason not to believe him.

 

[dirty2]

So... Guess that's good?

 

[Enviable Tradition]

That’s assuming what he said was fact.

Well to the best of my knowledge he has never declared himself a professional bullshitter.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[chiwigi]

The retaining of Hinkley by the board has been steadfast.

Could it be he’s had the devoted support because he accepted lack of funder to his department so debt could be smashed. On field ultimate success not a focus until it’s gone

Yes