AC Milan halve full-year losses as TV revenues rise

MILAN, Oct.26 (Reuters) – AC Milan halved their full-year loss as Italian Serie A soccer club’s improved performance boosted television revenues and limited the damage from the pandemic, he said on Tuesday.

Controlled by US investment fund Elliott, the seven-time European champion recorded a loss of 96.4 million euros ($ 112.2 million) for the fiscal year ended June 30, against a record loss of 194.6 million the previous year.

“The positive sports performances in the domestic league and participation in the UEFA Europa League have increased revenues from audiovisual rights by some 75 million euros,” the club said in a statement following its annual meeting of shareholders. Its TV rights revenues amounted to 63.4 million euros the previous year.

The club estimated that COVID-19 reduced 2020-2021 revenue by € 55 million, including lost ticket sales due to closed-door matches to stem the contagion. Total revenue increased 36% to 261.1 million euros.

After playing in the UEFA Europa League last season, AC Milan qualified for the Champions League for the first time since 2013-14, finishing second in the Italian top-level football league. The Rossoneri, as the team are known, now lead the Serie A table after nine matches.

“If we manage to qualify for the Champions League, and this is our goal, it is not unthinkable to reduce our losses to zero in the next two years,” club president Paolo Scaroni told reporters at the event. an online press briefing.

AC Milan and city rivals Inter Milan have resumed talks with local authorities over long-standing plans for a new stadium to replace the nearly century-old San Siro. The proposal, in part delayed by the pandemic, is seen as crucial to compete with Europe’s top rivals who own stadiums.

To speed up negotiations, the clubs are now suggesting focusing discussions on the stadium as they study a larger real estate project for the neighborhood surrounding the arena.

“Let’s start with the stadium and then we can talk about the real estate plan,” Scaroni said.

($ 1 = € 0.8593)

Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Valentina Za, Richard Chang and Mike Harrison

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