The Club has just signed off on our annual accounts for the football year ending 31 October 2011.
The Board therefore wishes to share these results with you, our members, before the Annual Report is dispatched later this week.
In short, the report is good news for Hawthorn Football Club.
The Club is delighted to announce a net operating profit for the year ending 31 October 2011 of $1,712,428. (Club 2010: $2,326,545).
We are pleased with such a strong financial result which is a credit to the Club’s management and drive, despite the absence of a premiership this year.
The 2011 year, from a football perspective, was ultimately disappointing.
Nevertheless the team produced an extremely consistent home-and-away season, despite being presented with some on-field challenges throughout the course of the season.
The Club was pleased to reach top four on the ladder, with the team displaying consistent improvement along the journey especially in the face of serious injuries to several key players. The Club continued to increase its investment in football development to allow our list to reach its full potential.
The Club is well placed to deliver its 11th premiership.
Following on from last year’s outstanding membership achievement, the Club consolidated its strong performance in this area, growing membership by 4% to 56,643 (2010 - 54,473). This is a very satisfying result, exceeding one of our five2fifty Business Plan objectives for the third year in a row.
Our membership support continues to grow each year in Tasmania with membership levels currently approaching 8,500.
Merchandise gross sales increased by over 20% in season 2011. This was an exceptional result and a very solid base from which to build. The online sales continue to grow strongly making up 42% of total gross sales.
Average attendances at Melbourne home games in 2011 was 48,161, with the highlights of the season being the Round 5 fixture against Geelong (78,579) and the Round 14 fixture against Essendon (64,537).
The Hawthorn Football Club Foundation continues to build its funds ($2,685,758) to provide the Club with a solid financial base. The major objective of the Foundation is to enable the Club to carry out specific projects which may not otherwise by funded from normal profits and generally to secure the Club’s long term future.
The Club’s major long-term investment, the West Waters entertainment complex, opened in late 2010 and its initial operations were hampered by ongoing construction works and a slower start-up than originally expected.
These start-up issues have negatively impacted on the Club’s consolidated result (a net profit of $594,323), however the Club is pleased to note that there has been some significant improvement in the venue’s financial performance over recent months and believe the business is very well positioned to deliver on its strong financial forecasts.
The Board has allowed three years for this project to build to its potential and deliver significant revenue to the Club, and it is on schedule to do so within that time frame.
Importantly it generates another source of income for the Club that is not dependant on the performance of the Football department in any given year.
The Club’s net assets now exceed $25 million and Hawthorn is in excellent financial shape to meet the challenges that lie ahead.
Finally I wish to thank the Board, management and all staff members for what I consider to be an excellent financial result in what has been a tough and challenging financial year for all commercial organisations. Sporting clubs have limited financial opportunities and therefore must remain innovative and bold to keep growing their businesses.
In particular I thank all our sponsors, large and small, for their continuing support.
At Hawthorn we are focused on delivering measurable outcomes for our sponsors and our staff has made that a reality yet again.
I look forward to meeting you soon at the AGM.
Until then, drive carefully, stay well and…
Go Hawks.
Jeff Kennett
President
The 109th Annual General Meeting of Hawthorn Football Club Limited will be held at the Hawthorn Town Hall, 360 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, on Wednesday 14 December.
The meeting will commence at 7pm.
