The President of Juventus’ holding company John Elkann believes “Juventus is well positioned for a more sustainable future.”
In a lengthy letter to Exor shareholders, Elkann reassured investors thatthe Bianconeri are in good hands and ready for the next step of their development.
“On the commercial side, Juventus’ revenues grew to €621 million (€505 million in 2018, +23%) and its diversification strategy continued with the opening of the J-Hotel (the first hotel structure in Italy built in collaboration with a football club) and the opening of a branch in Hong Kong to increase its exposure to the Asian market.
“The club now has 420 million supporters worldwide. This number is strengthened by its digital audience, with 41 million on Facebook, 38 million on Instagram, 11 million on Twitter, 2.6 million on YouTube and 2.6 million on SinaWeibo.
“We invested in Juventus this year by underwriting our entire portion, equal to €191 million (63.8% of the share capital) of the fully subscribed capital increase of €300 million. This year the club also issued a €175 million bond, the first unsecured senior bond issued by a football club.
“With its newly-strengthened balance sheet we believe that Juventus is well positioned for a more sustainable future in an industry in which the extraordinary revenue growth of the last decade has not been translated into sufficient profitability.
“Juventus also starts the next stage of its journey with a strong position in European 10 football. For the fourth year in the row it has been the fifth club in UEFA’s official ranking and it is the only Italian club to have been consistently placed in the top 10 for the last 5 years.
“It will continue to work with other teams and institutions under the strong leadership of its Chairman, Andrea Agnelli, who also chairs the European Club Association, to secure a sustainable future for the most popular sport in the world.”