Aberdeen Finances 2023/24

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Aberdeen’s 2023/24 accounts covered a season that was a bit of a mixed bag. As chief executive Alan Burrows said, “The 2023/24 campaign wasn’t without its challenges. We finished seventh in the Scottish Premiership and had to change managers mid-season, which is not where any club ever wants to be.”

On the other hand, the club played in a European group stage for the first time in fifteen years, though they did not progress to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League.

Aberdeen also reached the League Cup final, narrowly losing to Rangers, and only penalty kicks prevented them from reaching the Scottish Cup final, as they were defeated by Celtic in the semi-final.

However, Burrows noted, “We are aware that there can only be a modicum of comfort taken from ‘near misses’, and only winning trophies will be a true key measurement for this football club.”

As a result of poor league form, manager Barry Robson was dismissed in January 2024, replaced by the highly experienced Neil Warnock as interim manager. However, he stepped down only a month later, with Peter Leven taking over on a caretaker basis.

Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin moved into the hot seat this summer, on the back of a successful stint at Elfsborg, having transformed the Allsvenskan club into league challengers that only lost out to Malmö on goal difference the previous season.

League Position

Aberdeen have struggled on the pitch in the last three seasons, especially in 2021/22, when they came tenth, i.e. third bottom. This was a decline on the preceding eight years, when they finished in the top four every season, including second place on no fewer than four occasions.

The Dons started this season much better, though there’s a long way to go, as shown by the recent winless run.

Ownership

In 2019 Dave Cormack, an Aberdonian and lifelong Dons fan, replaced Stewart Milne as chairman after 22 years. Major League Soccer side Atlanta United acquired a minority stake (less than 10%) as part of a strategic alliance between the two clubs.

This group provided £5m, which helped finance development of the training ground, and significant funding since the initial investment.

Profit/(Loss) 2023/24

Largely due to the European group stage football and domestic cup runs, Aberdeen’s revenue shot up by £7.8m (50%) from £15.8m to a club record £23.6m.

However, they still swung from a £1.1m profit to a £0.9m loss, mainly because profit from player sales dropped from £7.5m to £1.3m. In addition, operating expenses increased by £3.8m (17%) from £22.0m to £25.8m.

All three of Aberdeen’s revenue streams increased, in fact rising to all-time highs. Broadcasting was the star of the show, more than doubling from £3.3m to £7.4m, but gate receipts also rose £2.7m (66%) from £4.1m to £6.8m. Commercial was up £1.0m (12%) from £8.4m to £9.4m.

Staff costs were higher, as wages rose £0.8m (7%) from £11.9m to £12.7m and player amortisation increased £0.2m (15%) from £1.1m to £1.3m. However, the largest growth came in other expenses, up nearly a third (£2.7m) from £8.6m to £11.3m.

Although it’s never great to lose money, Aberdeen’s £0.9m loss was actually one of the better results in the Scottish Premiership, though not all clubs have published their accounts for 2023/24 yet.