A high level of support for the path taken by the management and the first woman on the Supervisory Board - the Annual General Meeting of Borussia Dortmund GmbH & Co. KGaA on Monday was characterised by widespread support from the shareholders, who approved the annual financial statements with a clear majority of 99.99%.

image
Hans-Joachim Watzke

In a speech interrupted by applause on several occasions, Hans-Joachim Watzke cast a glance back on a "difficult season in which we didn't lose our composure and sense of unity for a single second" and said in reference to the lower revenues expected from participation in the UEFA Europa League compared to the UEFA Champions League, which the club had qualified for in the previous four seasons: "We came to the clear decision not to leave the path which has seen us become one of the biggest growth stories in European football over the last decade; this means keeping the squad we have and accepting we might have an economically weaker year."

In view of the "50 million Euro in fixed-term deposits" (Watzke) and a net profit in the region of EUR 101.6 million over the previous five years, Borussia Dortmund will have no problems taking this path, especially as there are a number of growth prospects on the horizon: in sponsoring, catering, in the club's own marketing and that of the league: "The clubs who have helped German football to become so popular abroad will benefit from this."

Watzke: "We are on a growth trajectory"

Watzke's conclusion: "We feel well-positioned, have a high public acceptance, are back on the path to sporting success, have a high volume of liquid funds and are on a growth trajectory. We take great enjoyment from our work and are looking forward to the challenge of the coming years."

image
Thomas Treß

"We no longer have any financial liabilities", declared Managing Director Thomas Treß to the applause of the shareholders. "Economic development as a whole has progressed very well," confirmed the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Gerd Pieper, who labelled BVB "an international leader" in terms of profitability and equity ratio and presented to the Annual General Meeting a profit distribution in the region of 5 per cent per share.

Harald Heinze, Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board, left the body after ten years of involvement. "We appreciate his calm nature," said Pieper as he thanked the man who played a significant role in the construction of the training centre which laid the foundations for the club's sporting future some ten years ago.

image
Silke Seidel

Heinze was replaced by Silke Seidel, a leading real estate developer at Dortmunder Stadtwerke (DSW21). Seidel and all of the other eight members of the Supervisory Board were appointed with an overwhelming majority.

Boris Rupert

Figures for the 2014/15 financial year