St Kilda Football Club has delivered an operating profit of $150,589 for the 2016 financial year before grant funding revenue, depreciation, amortisation and interest, and an overall accounting net profit of $1,107,311.

Included within the accounting net profit is Moorabbin Reserve grant funding and additional depreciation of the Seaford premises due to the expected relocation to Moorabbin.

“Financially, the 2016 results can be seen as steady progress as we continue to grow our business on- and off-field,” President Peter Summers said.

“We are realistic about our financial position, are managing our costs effectively and have a focus to continue to build our revenue streams.

“Our operating profit of $150,589 was a decrease on our 2015 result largely due to our continued investment in the football program, which increased by $1.12m in 2016.

“This was identified by the Board and management as an area for investment and growth and as a result we have increased spending by $0.67m in players and $0.45m in coaching and high performance.

“The club experienced substantial growth and improvement across the board throughout 2016.

“As always, we would like to thank our members for their continued support and financial investment in the club as we continue to build on this positive momentum,” Summers said.

Key highlights include:

Record operating revenue of $34.5m, a $2.1m increase on 2015.

Sponsorship and Events revenue up $0.65m from the continued expansion of our sponsorship portfolio.

More than 7,500 new members joined the Saints during the year – the largest growth of all AFL clubs which resulted in a final membership tally of 38,101.

The club recorded strong growth in match-day attendances in 2016 with over 685,000 people attending St Kilda games, a 16.2% increase on 2015.

Revenue from match returns increased by $0.44m, due to strong attendances at home games and the shift of a home game to the MCG.

The club continued to invest in its on-field program, investing $1.12m more in 2016 including a $0.67m increase in player related spending and a $0.45m increase in non-player spending.

St Kilda’s AGM will be held on Tuesday 20 December at the Kingston Town Hall from 7pm.

Download the 2016 Annual Report.