Liberty Media: Braves revenue up $17 million last year

Part of the reason for the big change in income stemmed from financial reporting associated with the October 2011 trade of pitcher Derek Lowe to Cleveland.

The Braves agreed to pay $10 million toward Lowe’s guaranteed 2012 salary as part of that trade. Liberty reported the amount as a fourth-quarter 2011 expense, dropping the Braves to the $6 million loss from what otherwise would have been a $4 million profit for that year. For accounting purposes, that took the $10 million Lowe expense off the Braves’ 2012 ledger.

But even after taking that shift into consideration, the Braves’ adjusted operating income improved by another $18 million for 2012 as the revenue increase flowed to the bottom line.

In its financial report, Liberty attributed the revenue increase to “slightly greater fan attendance and with a slightly higher average price per ticket.” Citing the Lowe trade, the company said income also “was positively impacted by slightly lower player salaries.”

The increase in revenue was much larger than the $5 million, or 2.5 percent, jump from 2010 to 2011.

Colorado-based Liberty Media has owned the Braves since 2007. The Braves are one of the few U.S. sports franchises owned by a publicly traded company and thus one of the few that discloses its financial results.

The Braves have taken on two major long-term contracts since the end of last season by acquiring brothers B.J. and Justin Upton for the outfield. The Braves signed B.J. Upton to a five-year, $75.25 million free-agent contract and assumed the remaining three years and $38.5 million on Justin Upton’s contract in a trade.