Papers calling the 104th AGM of the club have started to arrive through shareholders’ letterboxes and they bring news of the loss in the financial statement. The covering letter from John Boyle stresses that the club will return to profit this financial year and points out that that we are one of the few clubs in the SPL that carries no bank debt.
A quick flick through the accounts suggests that gate receipts were down 10%, TV & Radio dropped by 7% and that other sources of income had increased by 18% giving an overall drop in turnover of 5% - (£4.4M compared to £4,6M).
The big fall seems to be related to transfer fees. In the financial year ending in 2008 the club generated £1.3M (largely McDonald going to Celtic?) but last year only £0.4M – a drop of £900,000. One surprise is that player wage costs remained almost constant over the years ending 2008 and 2009.
There have been a few changes at board level. Leeann Dempster had been rewarded with a change in title (now chief Executive) and a seat on the board and she is joined by Andrew Wilson and Derek Weir, both longstanding fans with a wealth of banking experience.
The departure is Martin Rose. Boyle’s letter suggests that he has stepped down as he is no longer Chairman of the Supporters Trust. The Trust has never held a seat as of right (a longstanding aim) and now the involvement of fans at the highest level of the club remains unfulfilled.
The AGM takes place on Monday 19 April.
AGM 103 report here.