Hitting form

Although in transition after high-profile player departures, Borussia Dortmund (BVB) continues to compete well on all fronts. Its financial performance is similarly spirited with a near doubling in H1 pre-transfer EBITDA, driven by the Champions League. However, costs remain an issue, so we are maintaining our full-year pre-transfer EBITDA forecast despite better than expected progress in Europe. Apart from a new deal on Bundesliga media rights, FY18 should benefit from a significantly lower player cost base, hence our €8m EBITDA upgrade and forecast bumper cash generation (over €100m net cash at June 2018), which provides ample scope for profitable investment and returns to shareholders.