Champions League helped Ajax to €22 million in profit

Amsterdam football club Ajax booked a 22 million euro profit for the 2014-2015 fiscal year, an increase of about 5.4 million over a year earlier. The football team released its annual figures on Friday, which included a 1.5 percent increase in turnover to 105.4 million euros. Participating in the Champions League gave Ajax a boost of 28 million euros, and helped lead to a television and internet revenue increase of 1.5 million to 20.7 million. Meanwhile, Ajax cut operating expenses by 2.9 million to 92.2 million euros. This led to a significant operating profit, up to 13.2 million from 8.7 million. The strong increase in profit and more efficient operations should allow the team to pay a dividend of eight cents per share to stockholders, the Management Board and Supervisory Board believe. It was not all rosy, as Ajax Cape Town lost about 100 thousand euros after taxes.