Soccer-Inter Milan report record revenue but make loss

Inter Milan made a net loss of 48.4 million euros ($53.70 million) for the 2018/19 financial year despite a record revenue of 417 million euros, the club said in a statement on Monday. Chinese-owned Inter, who finished fourth in Serie A last season, attributed the loss to "the significant investments made to strengthen on-field performances".

The club said revenue had increased 20% compared to the previous year, partly because of the 138 million euros it received from sponsorship and also thanks to an average home attendance of 61,419 which it said was the highest in Italy and the fifth-highest in Europe. Inter, who said it had 385 million supporters around the world including 120 million in China, said revenue had doubled since the club was bought by the retail giant Suning Holdings Group in August 2016.

Inter president Steven Zhang, 28, told the shareholders' meeting that Inter needed to attract the younger generation. "European clubs have become modern entertainment companies which compete on a global scale," he said. "Generation Z consumes entertainment in a completely different way to the traditional model."

He added: "That's why it's vital that we dominate digital channels, create innovative content with a style that taps into the tastes of young people, devise geo-localized formats to engage with different cultures and –- most important of all –- focus on what happens outside of the 90 minutes of a football match." Zhang said it was also crucial for Inter to focus on global markets. "Europe is now a saturated market. But in the U.S., in Asia, and particularly in China, the potential is huge."

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