An earlier start to the season and operations at The Battery Atlanta fueled an increase in the Braves’ first-quarter revenue, according to financial results released Wednesday by team owner Liberty Media.
But as usual for the first quarter of a year, the Braves posted large operating losses.
The Braves generated revenue of $28 million in the January-through-March quarter this year, compared with $5 million in the same period a year ago. Liberty Media said $20 million in revenue came from baseball and $8 million from The Battery, the mixed-use development adjacent to SunTrust Park.
» More: Braves could sell more of The Battery
“Baseball revenue increased in the first quarter primarily driven by ... three home games in the first quarter of 2018 compared to no home games in the first quarter of 2017,” Liberty Media said. “Development revenue was nominal in the first quarter of 2017 as the project was still ramping.”
In the big picture, first-quarter financial results generally aren’t significant for an MLB team because the vast majority of revenue -- and profit -- is generated in the second and third quarters each year. Teams typically show large operating losses in the first quarter, as was the case for the Braves again this year.
The Braves had an operating loss before depreciation and amortization of $33 million in the quarter and a loss after depreciation and amortization of $49 million in the quarter, Liberty said. In the same period last year, those losses were $28 million and $32 million, respectively.
Liberty in part attributed the larger losses to “the acceleration of player salary expense as a result of released and injured players” and increased depreciation and amortization expense associated with The Battery and SunTrust Park. The Braves released pitcher Scott Kazmir in March, writing off his $16 million salary.
“Selling, general and administrative expense also increased primarily due to higher facilities, marketing and advertising costs associated with baseball and ballpark operations and the mixed-use facility,” Liberty said.
The company also disclosed that the Braves reduced their still-large debt from $667 million Dec. 31 to $603 million March 31. The debt is associated with construction of the stadium and mixed-use development.
For the first time, Liberty Media separately reported the Braves’ quarterly revenue from baseball and development. The company said the $20 million in baseball revenue includes ballpark operations (such as ticket and concession sales), local and national broadcast rights and shared MLB revenue streams, including licensing. The $8 million in development revenue “primarily includes rental income,” the company said.
On the company’s quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts Wednesday, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei made note of the Braves’ winning record this season.
“We have had impressive on-field performance with a 20-14 record as of (Tuesday) night’s game,” Maffei told the analysts, “and we remain in first place in the NL East.”
He also told them the Braves lead the National League in a long list of offensive categories, have the three youngest players in MLB and have posted a 5 percent attendance increase from the same point last year.
