July 23 – Olympique Lyonnais have reported €177.4 million of revenuefor2020/21, a drop of €94.1 millionfrom the €271.6 million reported in 2019/20 (a 35% reduction).
The club estimates the overall financial impact of the pandemic on revenues to be €150 million. Last week the club completed the part payment of player wages with an issue of about €850,000 in new share capital.
The Covid-19 curtailed match day revenues with all activities related to the GroupamaStadium (ticketing and events) lost. The Groupalso blamed the loss on failure of Mediapro’s broadcast deal in October 2020 as well as the early end to the 2019/2020 which saw OL fail to qualify for European club competition.
The closure of the stadium also saw the closure of the club shop and a consequent hit on merchandising revenue.
However, not all was doom and gloom with the club reporting a 25% increase in sponsorship and advertising to €33.9 million (up €6.7 million). “The sponsoring/advertising business performed very well, demonstrating the resilience and attractiveness of the OL brand and business development, particularly abroad inspite of the Covid-19 crisis,” said the club.
“With the economy appearing to emerge from the crisis, the Group has strengthened its finances, which should give it the flexibility it needs to pursue its future development wit hambition,” continued a club statement.
“Throughout the financial year, the Group adapted its finances to the public health situation, optimising all of its fixed and variable expenses, while taking advantage of government aid. Given the significant decline inTotal Revenue, the Group anticipates that the bottom line will be well into the red both in the second half and over the entire2020/21 financial year.”
Looking forward, the club said with the increase in vaccinations in France (the stadium has been a vaccination centre) it was looking forward to a return of fans and events to its facilities.
It also said the OLValleysite is being finalised, with the opening of the 23,000m² leisure and entertainment centre on 9June2021. The centre combines 17 different recreational, sporting and cultural sites, as well as nearby foodservice for local people and visitors and will contribute to the overall experience at the Groupama Stadium,” said the club.
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