The group operates Borussia Dortmund, a leading German football club, Bundesliga runners-up in 2018/19, DFB Cup winners in 2016/17 and competing in this season’s UEFA Champions League (round of 16 participants in 2018/19).
Investment summary
Four prominent player signings and retention of Jadon Sancho, the Bundesliga’s most valuable player, mark Borussia Dortmund’s (BVB) resolve to improve even on a season that clearly exceeded expectations with a new head coach and a developing squad. This has been rewarded with a winning start to this campaign, notably in Supercup triumph against Bayern. FY19 saw further strong results, if predictably lower than those of bumper transfer-led FY18. While pre-transfer revenue was up by 18%, driven by TV marketing, total EBITDA excluding a €16m boost from IAS8 adoption looks to have been only slightly below our forecast owing to lower than expected transfers. FY18 has been restated to reflect IAS8. Ahead of September’s annual report, we maintain current year forecast, subject to a likely c €10m IAS8 adoption boost.
Unsustainable spend on wages and transfers is increasingly being penalised by UEFA Financial Fair Play requirements. A ‘break-even requirement’ obliges clubs to spend no more than they generate over a rolling three-year period. Sanctions vary from a warning to a ban from UEFA competition, fines and a cap on wages and squad size.
