MELBOURNE has made a $1.9 million turnaround in its operating profit from last year after an increase in membership, attendances and sponsorship.
The Demons recorded a operating profit of $161,000 this year, the first season under coach Paul Roos.
Melbourne CEO Peter Jackson said the result was due to an increase in membership to almost 36,000, a 28 per cent increase in home attendances and a full compliment of sponsors, while the club was able to reduce its administration costs significantly.
"This is an encouraging result for the Melbourne Football Club, particularly considering the statutory loss of $3.1 million in 2013," Jackson said.
"We have been able to right a ship that was floundering last year and it's a reflection of the effort and capabilities of all involved. Importantly, this has not been at the expense of our football department expenditure, which grew by $892,000 during the year.
"It's particularly pleasing that the result was achieved without any significant additional normal funding from the AFL.
"Whereas the club received a one-off grant from the AFL in 2013 to restructure the club, funding from the AFL returned to normal levels in 2014. The restructure has allowed us to reduce costs and has clearly contributed to this result in 2014."
Melbourne President Glen Bartlett said it was an important result to show that the Demons could secure their own future without relying on the AFL for support.
"This is an excellent result for the club in a year that has seen so many changes," Bartlett said.
"This result is an important step for the club and gives us stability and a strong foundation, but we still have a lot of work to do to take the club to a position of strength.
"I would like to acknowledge the work of the board, and in particular the management team lead by Peter Jackson, who has worked very hard to grow our revenue, control costs and invest in the development of our football department."
