Borussia Dortmund Finances 2022/23

The Boys Are Back In Town

With good reason Borussia Dortmund’s board understandably described their 2022/23 season as “an emotional roller coaster”, after the club came agonisingly close to winning the German league title before narrowly losing out to their eternal rivals Bayern Munich on goal difference.

That said, the directors were “immensely proud of having injected some excitement back into the Bundesliga and going a long way to boosting its appeal.” Under head coach Edin Terzic, they also reached the last 16 of the Champions League and the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup.

Profit/(Loss) 2022/23

From a business viewpoint, the club “could look back on the past financial year with satisfaction”, as it posted an €11m pre-tax profit (€10m after tax), which represented a €41m improvement on the previous season’s €30m loss.

Revenue rose €48m (13%) from €377m to €425m, a new club record, boosted by profit from player sales increasing €10m (15%) from €63m to €73m. This was partially offset by €15m (3%) growth in operating expenses, while net interest payable was up €2m to €6m.

There was good growth across all three of the main revenue streams, though commercial was the star of the show, rising €33m (18%) from €184m to €217m, a new high for the club. Match operations nearly doubled from €23m to €44m, as COVID restrictions were lifted, while broadcasting increased €12m (9%) to €158m.

On the other hand, other operating income fell €19m (73%) from €26m to €7m.

As a technical aside, Dortmund’s definition of revenue, which excludes other operating income, rose a very impressive €66m (19%) from €352m to €418m.

Dortmund’s wage bill increased slightly by €5m (2%) from €231m to €236m, while player amortisation rose €3m (3%) from €87m to €90m, though player impairment decreased €6m (63%) from €9m to €3m. Other expenses were up €13m (10%) to €138m, mainly due to the higher costs of staging games with full capacity.