"We are out of the economic downward spiral".

HSV.de: HSV closed the 2021/22 financial year with a surplus of one million euros and thus reported a positive annual result for the first time in twelve years. That must have surprised many external observers and fans in the fifth year of the second division. With you as well?

Dr. Eric Huwer: . These annual figures are the result of continuous work, perseverance and early introduction of appropriate measures, especially since 2019. If Corona had not occurred, we would have already broken even in the 2019/20 financial year. We have done a good community job and also benefited from our sporting development despite missing out on promotion. Unplanned additional income in the DFB Pokal, in the playoffs as well as transfer proceeds have had a decisive effect.

"Since relegation in 2018, financial liabilities have been almost halved, by 17.5 million euros in the past financial year"

Can you explain the significant reduction in financial liabilities? How does that work in the  2.Liga ?
We reduced the net financial liabilities, simply speaking: the actual debts, by 17.5 million euros in the past financial year alone. Since relegation in 2018, the financial liabilities have thus been almost halved to the remaining 31.4 million euros. For the first time, the debt level is below the level after the spin-off in 2014. We have not abandoned our chosen path of a reliable and ambitious reduction of our financial liabilities, even in the greatest crisis, and we are continuing to pursue it. Reducing debt is one thing, strengthening financial solidity and agility is another.
Expanding financial agility, in other words, preparing for less successful times, is in my opinion the most important economic task in a professional football club and was already the focus of our efforts before the pandemic. For example, immediately before the outbreak of the crisis, when the economic omens were still good, we were able to initiate appropriate preventive measures and, among other things, expand our current account lines. 

During the enormous pandemic restrictions with spectator exclusion, some professional clubs had liquidity bottlenecks. How was and is HSV doing in this respect?
While the credo "liquidity first" was already one of the primary guidelines of economic trading before the pandemic, especially in professional football, due to the requirements of association law and industry-specific dynamics, it became even stronger during the Corona crisis. We were not one of the clubs suffering from liquidity bottlenecks and responded accordingly to the DFL's query, which was so accompanied by the media at the time. We had sufficient liquidity at all times during the crisis. We were also able to identify appropriate measures at an early stage to navigate the ship through the pandemic icebergs visible on the horizon. The years before certainly did not fail to serve their purpose in this regard. HSV's economic resilience existed even before the COVID 19 pandemic broke out. For years we have been granted the DFL licence without any conditions or requirements. This was different in my early days at HSV, despite belonging to the Bundesliga. 

"We handle our funds responsibly and are clearly looking upwards, both economically and in terms of sport."

What does the equity ratio of 30.3 per cent mean?
It is excellent news. We have generated a positive result and increased equity. We are out of the economic downward spiral. It is good to be able to talk about a "net profit" and not about a "net loss".
The increase in equity and the equity ratio are an expression of our economic solidity. In addition to liquidity, this parameter also enjoys increased importance in the context of licensing. Nationally and internationally, negative equity is increasingly sanctioned. Our economic solidity has improved due to the positive result and the confidence of our shareholder AMPri, which secured the last shares available from the already authorised capital in the spring within the framework of a capital increase. The message is clear: we are handling the funds at our disposal responsibly and thus living up to the confidence of the capital providers. 
 

Can you provide an insight into the current figures? Is the business model still working?This result is the outcome of numerous efforts over many years. We have increased our economic breathing capacity, i.e. we have been able to adjust our expenses to our income, reduced debts by a considerable amount and reduced our personnel expenses. Furthermore, we cannot see any decline in demand at the Volksparkstadion after the lifting of the pandemic-related spectator exclusions, as predicted in many places. On the contrary: many of our colleagues from the Bundesliga envy us week after week for our supporters.
Ticketing revenues are above plan, thanks go to our fans; it cannot be emphasised often enough, and we are grateful and humbled for this attachment to HSV. The current spectator numbers are impressive proof of the stable demand for our way of offering football and living in the stands. The interaction between the pitch and the stands in our Volksparkstadion, which is so full of atmosphere, is certainly an identity-contouring feature of our club and thus a value driver of our business model, to put it in business terms. To put it another way: the Volksparkstadion shakes, HSV is enthusiastic and is shaping its future sustainably on this basis. Of course, in this context we must not forget our shareholders and partners, whose loyalty and solidarity strengthen our basis for economic success. Our heartfelt thanks also go to them. 
 

"We are pursuing the path of sustainable positive business results without having to cut back on the development of the squad."

How do you view HSV's overall financial and economic situation, also in comparison to competitors?

All 36 Bundesliga clubs continue to be badly affected by the implications of the crisis. Half of the clubs are making considerable losses. Meanwhile, we are one of the few clubs where the highest source of revenue is not TV revenue but ticketing revenue under normal competitive conditions. The spectator exclusion of a stadium with our capacity in the 2. Bundesliga is a much higher burden than for many of our competitors. Our great strength became our Achilles' heel in the pandemic.
The return to normal play, the spectator demand at home and away matches, the positive annual result as well as the strengthening of equity together with the outlook allow us to speak of a positive overall situation for HSV despite short-term challenges. In a league comparison, there are hardly any comparable clubs that show similar equity, neither in the 2nd division nor among the comparable, so-called traditional clubs.
In view of the development and economic figures, we look back on the past financial year with satisfaction for a moment, even though we narrowly missed out on promotion behind Bundesliga relegation teams FC Schalke 04 and SV Werder Bremen. But we have been looking ahead for some time now. In the long term, we want to become more crisis-proof, better prepared for possible sporting failures, and continue to pursue the chosen path of not unconditionally betting everything on short-term sporting success, but rather developing young players, a playing philosophy as well as economically sustainable positive figures.
In the short term, we need to solve the challenges of modernising the stadium and refinancing it. We are currently working on this at full speed. The figures, the development of the team and the popularity of the spectators give us a strong tailwind. In view of the way the season has gone so far, the popularity with spectators, the performance and the development of our young team, we not only have justified hopes of achieving our goal of promotion to the Bundesliga, but also of continuing to pursue our ambitious path of sustainable positive business results - without having to cut back on the further development of the squad. This annual surplus should not be an exception. With this result, we are equipped to move closer to our sporting goals, and that is what our daily activities are all about. It is our utmost endeavour to combine the economic and sporting goals of HSV. Economically and in terms of sport, we are clearly looking upwards.

Thank you very much for the interview.