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A standing ovation for Hans-Joachim Watzke at the General Meeting
The chair of the Supervisory Board, Christian Kullmann, spoke of an "extraordinarily successful financial year" in light of the "highest group turnover and the highest group gross performance," which closed with a balance sheet profit of just under €37.9 million in the individual financial statements of the KGaA for the period from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024. Of this, €6.6 million will be distributed as a dividend for the limited liability shareholders, while the remaining €31 million will be allocated to retained earnings.
Kullmann is stepping down from the Supervisory Board after 17 years ( deputy chairman of the board from 2019 to 2021, then chair): ‘It has been an honour and a pleasure to have served the group." Hans-Joachim Watzke, CEO of BVB, thanked him and emphasised: "Evonik and you: You have done an enormous amount for this club." Bodo Löttgen, who is also leaving the board, also received a long round of applause.
It was also Watzke's last speech at an Annual General Meeting. As he did on Sunday at the general meeting, the BVB boss, who will step down from the management board next year, had critical words for the way in which "solidarity is now often being substituted by impatience" and explained: "I have the feeling that we are letting ourselves drift. Things are spilling over from social media into the media. Great things can only develop with a sense of patience. I'm glad that we have a sporting director and a head coach who come from our own academy." This statement was met with great approval, including from the shareholder representatives, who emphasised a sense of identification as an important attribute for those in management positions.
Watzke also addressed the sponsorship deal with Rheinmetall. "I am a democrat and accept the result of yesterday's general meeting. The majority of those present voted against further cooperation with Rheinmetall." At the general meeting of the club on Sunday, 585 members voted in favour of such a motion. Watzke: "585 sends a clear signal. In the overall evaluation, however, it is only 0.25% of all members. I would like us to get a picture of how our 218,000 club members view this as a whole."
Hans-Joachim Watzke concluded by taking a look back: "20 years. Facing three very profound crises takes its toll." He was referring to the near-insolvency in 2005, the bomb attack in 2017 and the Coronavirus pandemic. The consequences of the pandemic, "In which we had to turn the lights out all of a sudden", cost more than €150 million.
The CEO commented on Borussia Dortmund's development from 2004 to the present day: "Rising to the top and staying there for over ten years despite considerable competitive disadvantages is a great achievement." Only one thing has not been achieved: "Inexplicably, since Covid ended, we have not been able to recover the share price." In March 2020, the share price stood at €9.48 in the week before operations were suspended; today it stands at €3.27.
Watzke was visibly surprised by the reaction of the shareholders present. They honoured his achievements over these 20 years with a standing ovation that lasted several minutes.
BVB managing director Carsten Cramer emphasised the "star power of the Borussia Dortmund brand" in difficult global political and economic times. "We at BVB have great social importance. Our economic foundation is extremely good. Acquiring €160 million in sponsorship (including hospitality) with 50+1 is hard work." The aim is to bring BVB "to €500 million in revenue independent of transfers." Cramer also turned his focus to one of the club's blossoming new departments, stating: "Women's football is profitable for us. In the Westfalenliga, at absolute amateur level, we have generated €2.5 million - no one else in Germany can do that."
As he does every year, Thomas Tress gave a detailed breakdown of the numbers. The revenue drivers were match operations (+ €9.1 million compared to the previous year), TV marketing (+48.5), merchandising (+14.5) and conference, catering, other (+14.4). The bottom line was revenue of €509.1 million excluding transfers (previous year: €418.2 million). In view of the Group's total gross revenue of €639 million (+123.7), Tress noted: "No other club in Germany, with the exception of Bayern Munich, are even remotely capable of generating such a figure." He also sees potential for growth in marketing: "We can capitalise on our brand primarily through sponsorship." He had clear words regarding the share price. "Our equity has risen by €44 million to €327 million. That's almost the entire stock market value. The share price is trivial when you consider the value of Borussia Dortmund."
Boris Rupert
The results of the closing resolutions will follow.