Brisbane Broncos post biggest profit in club’s history

WAYNE Bennett’s Broncos are the financial kingpins of the NRL and the envy of many battling Sydney outfits after the club posted its biggest profit in its 29-year history.

Captains of the sixteen teams line up at the NRL season launch for 2017 in Martin Place, Sydney. Picture. Phil Hillyard

WAYNE Bennett’s Broncos are the financial kingpins of the NRL, amassing $42 million in revenue and posting a $4 million profit – the biggest in the club’s 29-year history.

On the eve of Brisbane’s 2017 season launch tonight, The Courier-Mail can reveal the Broncos have posted a record pre-tax profit of $4.1 million – eclipsing last year’s $3.77 million.

After tax, the Broncos will pocket $2.8 million – rubber-stamping Brisbane as one of the most powerful brands in Australian sport.

While Sydney clubs are drowning in $34.1 million of debt, the Broncos head into Thursday night’s season-opener against Cronulla as the NRL’s top commercial club.

Their record-breaking performance will intensify pressure on the NRL to axe struggling Sydney clubs and introduce a fourth team in Queensland.

Documents obtained from the ASX show the Broncos broke the $4m pre-tax profit mark for the first time despite missing the top four last season.

Broncos chief executive Paul White acknowledged the result, but warned no one at Red Hill was complacent as Brisbane strive to break an 11-year title drought this season.

“There is zero complacency at our club, if you start patting yourself on the back you can go backwards very quickly,” White said.

“The thing I’m most proud of is the consistency of our financial performance, not only with this profit but over the past five years.

“We’ve defied the notion that the only way you can make money in the NRL is if you win the competition.

“Our objective is to be a top-four club every year but sometimes you fall short of the mark and we fell just short on differential last year.

“In terms of assets, we wouldn’t be the richest club in Australian sport, but this result shows we are certainly one of the most efficient sporting clubs in the country.”

The Broncos – majority owned by The Courier-Mail’s publisher News Corporation Australia – have the largest membership base in the NRL with more than 36,000 members and had major increases in sponsorship, merchandise sales and digital media revenue last season.

With the Broncos’ state-of-the-art $27 million training facility due for completion this year, the club is the envy of many Sydney outfits battling to stay alive.

“A lot of Sydney clubs are fortunate to receive financial support from high performing leagues club but our business model can’t be built on that,” White said.

“Our members and supporters want to know there is stability and a foundation and it’s my responsibility to make sure we maintain high performance on and off the field.

“The result reflects a commitment from the whole organisation and we’re absolutely determined for success on and off the field in 2017 and beyond.”

NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg lauded the Broncos as one of the most cutting-edge clubs in Australian sport.

“It’s a great result,” Greenberg said.

“It is enormous recognition of a few things _ the progress Brisbane have made, the leadership of Paul White and Dennis Watt (chairman) and the players for understanding the culture of the Broncos and driving a commercial return. There should be a lot of very happy Broncos fans today.”