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The original was posted on /r/soccer by /u/anime3003 on 2023-12-28 05:27:55.
On the one hand there is an Inter first in the Serie A standings, fresh from a Champions League final lost narrowly against Manchester City. On the other hand, a budget from a deep abyss, so unbalanced as to raise fears for the future of one of the most important football teams in Italy. In the midst of all this, it is disconcerting to learn of the compensation paid to the 10 members of the board (which includes the corporate CEO Alessandro Antonello and the CEO of the sports area Giuseppe Marotta) who received less than 1.9 million euros for the 2022/2023 financial year , which is out of place compared to a loss of 85.4 million.
But beyond this, the numbers that make us fear the most for the future of the Nerazzurri Milan were written on the blog of the accountant and auditor Luca Marotta. Although the company cut costs by 11.8% to 465.5 million, it however had to record a decline in revenues (-3.2%) to 425.5 million. This means that the economic imbalance persists and is projected into the future. The losses, in fact, are reflected in a very heavy debt situation: 807 million, although down from 881 million in the previous year. A breath of fresh air, vital for the club’s continuity, would have been the sales of Brozovic (to Al Nasr for 17.5 million) and Onana to Manchester United (for 50.2 million). The possibility granted, as part of the aid for companies affected by the Covid emergency, to “spread the deadlines relating to certain debt items, in particular of a fiscal nature” certainly helped a lot. The fact is that the Inter Group as of 30 June 2023 reported a negative net worth of 161.9 million. This means that all the assets contained in the Inter balance sheet, which are overestimated, would not be enough to cover the liabilities. And being negative, “the Parent Company’s net equity as of 30 June 2023 does not fall within the minimum capitalization limits established by the Civil Code”, writes Marotta. However, the company had the possibility to defer the coverage of the losses within the fifth financial year following the one closed: therefore, by 2027, when it will have to have eliminated the accumulated 342 million.
The picture, therefore, is that of a club that is doing everything possible to stay afloat by resorting to extremely harsh conditions. But the creaks are multiplying and could soon lead to a breaking point that seems inevitable. In fact, in January 2022, a 415 million bond was issued with a maturity of 2027 with a monstrous yield of 6.75%. And the Chinese Suning, who control the company through the Grand Tower vehicle, will have to find a way to repay the 275 million loan from the Californian Oaktree fund by the May 2024 deadline, which has demanded all the shares of the company to guarantee its credit. Given these numbers, the Chinese property should take on a robust capital increase to rebalance a situation that in the long run could force the books to be taken to court. The ownership has taken steps to cover the loss of the last year with the conversion of an 86 million shareholder loan into equity; but given the poor parade, much more will be needed.
Suning.com, the consumer electronics giant and the cornerstone of the Suning group, is not sailing in good waters: in 2022 it lost around 2.1 billion and this year the situation, despite having improved in the first half of the year, also remains at a loss due to a Chinese economy that has had a slower-than-expected recovery in consumption. In turn, the Zhang family is facing various problems at home with creditors. On 7 July 2022, Inter “received a summons from China Construction Bank” at “the Civil Court of Milan” for an action “to revoke the Parent Company’s shareholders’ resolution of 18 February 2019” regarding compensation of the directors, in the context of «wider actions to protect their economic interests in China». Inter opposed it and the case is still ongoing, but in reality it is another issue to resolve.