Coming up on the Hibs Hub podcast this week...
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00:00of £7.2 million for the 12-month period to the end of June 2024.
00:05It's a figure close to double the previous year's losses of £3.8 million.
00:10There's been a turnover increase of 30% to £15.9 million on that time,
00:15but it still leaves the club relying on the steadfast support of shareholders
00:19who continue to underwrite losses.
00:22It's noted in it that Sackingley Johnson and Nick Montgomery had a major impact.
00:27It also stated that £1 million had been written off after a commercial partner went into liquidation.
00:32Staff costs had risen, the wage turnover dipped to 78%.
00:37The club's recruitment also came into view as poor and it resulted in significant overspend.
00:44And over the piece, while it has been better for Hibs over the last few months,
00:49a downturn in performance and results continues to prove problematic over the whole piece,
00:55obviously Hibs finishing in the bottom six last season.
00:59There's been upgrades to Easter Road that have come at a cost.
01:03They have made £1 million in profit from player sales and income from some of the European matches.
01:08And it comes off the back of Ben Kenzel departing the club two weeks ago
01:15and the £6 million investment from Black Knights who purchased a 25% stake in the club last March.
01:24The AGM at Easter Road on the 25th of February,
01:28and the club had also put in it that they expect the financial year ending in June 2025 to remain challenging.
01:35So several players are out of contract at the end of the season and it ends with it will allow a tighter focus on the playing budget and associated costs.
01:44There is a lot more in the statement, so if you're wanting maybe a full blown debrief of everything in that,
01:50it is readily available on most media sites and obviously Hibs have published that as well.
01:55If you're wanting to see every nut and bolt in that, it is fairly lengthy.
02:00But Ben, what did you make of that as a whole?
02:04Because obviously it's been so positive, it's been as positive as I can remember it on the pitch for Hibs in quite a number of seasons.
02:11But I suppose there's nothing David Gray can do about it.
02:14But it's a shame for him and the team, I suppose, that in the build-up to the cup, I think this was released at lunchtime just before the cup.
02:22That kind of became one of the talking points of the night rather than the sort of progress the team had made.
02:28No, I think that's Hibs all over, but as soon as something goes good, there's always something bad around the corner.
02:34I think that's just the life of being a Hibs man.
02:37To be honest, I've seen this coming. I think most people that are going to clued up about Hibs have probably seen this coming.
02:44Maybe the amount probably is a wee bit stark.
02:47But I expected significant losses, further losses from the previous season,
02:51because it's the same script we've been hearing from the Easter Road hierarchy,
02:56which is things are going great commercially, the stadium, sponsorship, everything's brilliant.
03:01But the problem is if that doesn't marry up to what you do on the park, then losses are going to come, basically.
03:08I mean, the club's underperformed.
03:10When you look at the club outside of Hibs, they have to be in those European spots every season,
03:15or at least in the top six, and getting deep cup runs where you're getting to semifinals, you're getting to Hamden.
03:21But Hibs just haven't done that over the past few years.
03:24I mean, that's the simple fact of it. That doesn't help.
03:28We mentioned in the account stuff like a sponsor going through liquidation, a million pounds.
03:33These type of things just can't happen.
03:35A football club this size, it's the type of thing that makes you pull your hair out,
03:40because you think, well, what's going on behind the scenes for these type of things to happen?