Genoa, booming turnover and a grown-up future

Strong on the pitch, solid off it. On the one hand Gilardino’s Genoa, on the other a club that since the arrival of the new American ownership of 777 Partners (from which a liquidity injection of 125 million euros has arrived in these first two and a half years) is working to transform the club into a virtuous and sustainable reality also from an economic-financial point of view. Since September 2021, it has been a long race to get the company’s accounts back on track, the effects of which are starting to be seen now. Stefano Vincis, rossoblù’s financial director, explains it in detail, as he prepares to close the financial year on 31 December with excellent reasons to smile: “There are still some accounting entries missing – he explains – but we should close with a net worth doubled or perhaps tripled compared to the previous year, therefore between 10 and 15 million. And with a numerical balance among the highest for Genoa in recent years, certainly the most important since the 777 appeared, which records the effects of the tax transaction (spreading the residue over the next ten years), the tool used all ‘within the debt restructuring, useful for the club, but also advantageous for the treasury and for all those who have relations with Genoa.” Among other things, the approval of the debt restructuring was dated 7 December last, and will be accounted for in the 2023 budget.

triple digits

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An accounting situation that envisages a gross operating margin as long as a positive Ebitda (gross operating margin) is achieved as early as this season. It was negative in 2022, since the budgets also discounted “a very high cost of the squad and personnel, exceeding 70 million euros, while for this season the all-inclusive team cost, therefore with loans, must not exceed 45-46 million and will tend to decrease further.” And here comes the other interesting data: in light of the final balance up to last December and the reasonable estimate for the second half of 2023-24, “45 million in revenues for audiovisual rights should arrive, an extraordinary result in terms of ticketing and hospitality – over 10 million -, 3-4 times compared to the past, as many in terms of marketing and sponsorships”. With one item – merchandising – which is surprising the company: another 3-4 million. Adding to these rumors also the player trading chapter with the three main players leaving (Dragusin, Lipani and Semper), whose total fixed compensation exceeds 30 million, with potential ten more bonuses, “we can close the season with reasonable certainty at one hundred million in turnover, a figure never reached in recent years by the rossoblù club”, explains Vincis.

uefa license

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It is no mystery that Genoa’s growth on the pitch will have to be continuous in the years to come, to permanently bring the club back to European cups. The objective is therefore to obtain the UEFA license again, and to achieve this it will be necessary to deposit the financial statements by 20 April. Which will still end with a loss (albeit significantly lower than that of the 22-23 budget, but with a positive net worth. The basis, in fact, of the Genoa to come.