AFC Leopards had a gross revenue of Ksh 67,423,244 in 2022, a growth of 28.88% from what they recorded in 2021 according to an audit report on the club ahead of their Annual General Meeting (AGM) set to take place on Sunday 25 June 2023.The numbers captured on the report give glimmers of hope for the club as they seek to bounce back from the economic impact of Covid-19, a healthy and promising financial state.However, just like in the past nine years where they have never recorded a surplus, their total expenditure of Ksh 72,608,818 for the 2022 financial year superseded the income, and thus a deficit of Ksh 5,183,574.
Worthy to mention, as the revenue increased, there was a significant decline in the expenditure, the two eventually complementing each other to decrease the deficit from the previous year.Despite the negative number, it was a huge reprieve compared to the deficit of Ksh 27,069,498 recorded the previous year, and by far better than the year before, 2020, which saw a deficit of Ksh 28,833,758.The greatest source of revenue, and a risky one for that matter according to the auditor, was sponsorship grants which amounted to Ksh 44,400,000 spread across three different sponsors, including one that did not take off fully.
Following Collins Sichenje’s move to Sweden’s AIK that year, the club benefited to the tune of Ksh 6,078,644 in signing fees, the highest amount they have recorded in the past decade as per the audit reports during that period.The fans returned to Ingwe home matches which saw the revenue from gate collection soar to Ksh 3,466,905 from the meager Ksh 166,900 collected from three home matches in 2021, but still nowhere near their best in 2012 when they collected 14,692,001.Ingwe realized the highest amount from merchandise sales last year in the last 10 years. A total of Ksh 3,348,900 resulted from merchandise sales, mostly replica jerseys. The only other time they had sold merchandise close to that amount was in 2018 and 2020, Ksh 2,824,700 and Ksh 2,810,950 respectively.
The other big earner for the 12-time Kenyan champions was membership fees which brought in Ksh 3,293,900, the highest amount in the past decade also, and the same could probably go higher in the next audit report going by the number of over 3600 members who have already registered according to a list released by the club in June 2023.Whereas the revenue from membership increased, the amount received from branches dropped by a couple of thousands, falling from Ksh 265,000 in 2021 to Ksh 245,000 in 2022.With the risk associated with relying on sponsorship as the main source of income, the auditor implored the club to consider engaging in other revenue-generating projects for the 2023 financial year and to also intensify their membership drive.
ExpenditureWhile the club’s revenue went up significantly, the total expenditure dropped from Ksh 79,103,124 in 2021 to Ksh 72,608,818, spending more than six million less which translates to a slash of 8.21%.They hugely cut their expenditure on administrative expenses, specifically on fines and penalties compared to 2021, parting ways with just Ksh 1,548,333 compared to Ksh 8,923,620 that they had to pay that year, and that alone saw them chop off Ksh 7,375,287.
Apart from the administrative expenses, the direct costs were in favor of the club, dropping from Ksh 63,633,187 to Ksh 54,905,943. The decline was impacted a lot by a drop in the amounts the club used as staff expenses and the amount they paid out as signing fees.In 2021, they used Ksh 41,266,177 and Ksh 8,115,539 on staff expenses and signing fees respectively while in 2022 they paid out Ksh 37,578,642 and Ksh 2,842,800 on the two expenses respectively.There was no significant difference between the match day expenses in 2021 and in 2022, Ksh 7,209,015 and Ksh 7,560,075 respectively.
The weakness of the shilling against the dollar came to bite Ingwe as they lost more than half a million in 2022 compared to 2021 due to foreign exchange differences. The loss due to the exchange difference in 2021 was Ksh 391,633 while in 2022 it soared to 981,969.Further in the administrative expenses, the club spent less on travel and accommodation as well as on rent and rates. For travel and accommodation, they used Ksh 1,265,228 in 2022 compared to Ksh 2,498,070 whereas for rent and rates, the amount was Ksh 1,353,605 in 2022 and Ksh 2,313,668 in 2021.Can they manage to close 2023 with a surplus, just like they did last in 2013?