German soccer champions Bayern Munich announced a rise in annual revenue for the 2017/18 season, helping to raise the spirits at a club whose footballing fortunes have taken a slight dip of late.
Bayern won its sixth successive league title last season, but European success eluded them again, falling at the semi-final stage of the European Champions League — the continent's premier club soccer competition — losing to eventual winners Real Madrid.
Turnover reached 657.4 million euros ($751.3 million) from 640 million euros the previous season, but EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) stood at 136.5 million euros, down from 149 million euros in 2016/17. Net profit was also down to 29 million euros from 39 million euros.
"Bayern Munich can be very satisfied with the financial results for 2017-18," Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement.
"Apart from the sporting success with victory of the German league title and the good run in the Champions League, these results are proof that Bayern also had a good year in financial terms."
New manager Niko Kovac has not had the best start to his first domestic campaign in charge of Bayern Munich, lying in fifth place in the German Bundesliga league table, which is also outside of the Champions League qualification places for next season. Equally as worrying will be the seven-point gap behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.
However, the team is all but through to the Champions League knockout stage, which will mean being part of the elite European competition in the New Year.
German football has not fared well on the pitch at international level in 2018, following the men's team crashing out of the World Cup in Russia at the group stage. Failure to hang on to a two-goal lead against the Netherlands during its UEFA Nations League match on Monday means that Germany has only won one competitive match this calendar year.
It was also announced on Tuesday morning that the partnership between the DFB — the German soccer association — and Mercedes-Benz will not be extended beyond the end of 2018, bringing to an end a 46-year association.
