Juventus H1 Net Profit Rises To 37 Mln Euros
MILAN, Feb 13 (Reuters) - Italian soccer club Juventus said on Wednesday net profit in the first half of its 2001-2002 financial year to end-December rose to 37.3 million euros against 10.6 million in the same year-ago period.
Turnover was up 10.3 percent at 84.8 million euros, Juventus Football Club said in a statement.
Juventus, the most successful club in Italian history, made its debut on the Milan bourse on December 20, floating 37 percent of its capital at 3.7 euros a share. It closed on Wednesday 0.46 percent up at 3.466 euros.
The currently second-ranking Serie A club, which has been in profit in the last five financial years, joined Rome-based rivals AS Roma and Lazio on the bourse.
Turin-based Juventus is controlled by Ifi , a holding of the powerful Agnelli family whose empire includes carmaker Fiat .
Juventus turned to the stock market to help boost its off-field activities including developing a new sports and leisure centre in its home town of Turin.
In January, the Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company (LAFICO), a former partner of Fiat, bought a 5.31 percent stake in Juventus and Al-Saadi Gaddafi, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said LAFICO planned to raise this to 20 percent.
Fiat honorary chairman Gianni Agnelli welcomed the news.
LAFICO held a stake in Fiat between 1977 and 1986 when the carmaker was struggling.
($1=1.14 euro)
