MUMBAI: Reliance Industries-owned Indiawin Sports, the company that holds franchise rights for Mumbai Indians, has posted a net loss of Rs 3.9 million for the fiscal ended 31 March 2012 and could break even in FY?13.

The company?s turnover stood at Rs 1.7 billion during the season 4 of IPL, higher than Chennai Super Kings? (CSK) Rs 1.4 billion. The running costs are, however, more than CSK?s which has achieved break-even status.

Indiawin has narrowed its fiscal loss while upping its revenue. For the fiscal ended 31 March 2011, the company had posted a net loss of Rs 154.2 million on a turnover of Rs 1.12 billion.

The company had total assets of Rs 1.34 billion in FY?12 compared to Rs 652.8 million a year ago. Negative reserves were at Rs 906.1 million, from Rs 900.22 million in FY?11.

Total liabilities stood at Rs 1.34 billion while it had a capital of Rs 26.5 million.

RIL, which has 98.3 per cent stake in Indiawin Sports, had bought the IPL Mumbai franchise for $112.9 million for a period of 10 years. Teesta Retail owns 1.7 per cent stake.

The major revenue stream for IPL franchises include income from central sponsorships and central broadcasting besides team sponsorships, gate receipts, in-stadia advertising, merchadise sales and media tie-ups.

Major cost heads are franchise fee, players salaries, travel costs, team promotion, stadium fess and other administration costs.

For Mumbai Indians, the franchise fee per year is $11.19 million while the IPL has fixed salary cap for players at $9 million. Other costs go up or down from season to season.

Last year, the franchise had Hero Honda (now Hero MotoCorp) as team sponsor, MasterCard as founding sponsor, and Bridgestone as team sponsor while Royal Stag, Kingfisher, Loop Mobile, Coca Cola, adidas, Dheeraj Realty and Air India were the official partners.

This year Mumbai Indians has roped in a new sponsor, Dewan Housing Finance Corporation, which has come as associate sponsor. It has also inked a licensing pact with Disney to launch co-branded merchandise products.

The merchandise revenue of Mumbai Indians is expected to climb in comparison to last year?s revenue of Rs 50-60 million.

Mumbai Indians, despite its loss in qualifiers, is also expected to rake in the moolah from gate receipts due to record spectator turnout for all its home matches.

The franchise has made significant gains due to meticulous focus on nurturing a core team under Sachin, strong fan engagement efforts, sponsorship and merchandising.

Reliance Industries had bought the Mumbai franchise for $111.9 million in 2008. The franchise was valued at $57.1 million by brand valuation firm Brand Finance in 2011.

MUMBAI: India Cements-owned IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings has earned a revenue of Rs 1.4 billion in the previous edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and is targeting a 15-20 per cent growth from season 5 of the cash rich league.

According to India Cements Joint President marketing Rakesh Singh, the franchise had clocked revenues of Rs 1.4 billion from sponsorship, ticketing and share of central revenue pool comprising ground sponsorship and broadcast rights.

The team has long-term deals with telco Aircel and lubricants brand Gulf Oil, two of its main sponsors, while Amrapali Group, Reebok, Pepsi, Coromandel King, Hercules, Mansion House, and The Hindu are other sponsors on board.

Speaking to official CSK website, Team owner Gurunath Meiyappan said the team has been getting encouraging response from sponsors due to its on-field performance.

?We are proud that most of our sponsors have been with us for almost all seasons. We are very happy that we are the only team whose principal sponsor, Aircel, has been constant from Season 1 of the Championship,? he said.

?Aircel, Gulf Oil, Life OK, Amrapalli, Washington Apple, TI Cycles, Mansion House, Universal and Reebok are our other sponsors. We also have tie-ups and associations with The Hindu, Caf? Coffee day and Hello FM. Our sponsorship rates have always increased year on year reflecting the success the team has been getting on-field.?

Some of the recent sponsors to come on board are Life OK channel and Washington Apples as the official fruit partner of the team.

However, it?s not just the sponsorship revenue that the franchise is banking on; it is also looking at merchandising, a revenue stream which has largely remained untapped unlike the West where it is a major revenue contributor for major clubs.

CSK plans to launch an entire range of apparel at various price points across 380 outlets in Tamil Nadu and is also opening a store at the Chennai airport soon. Additionally, all Reebok outlets will also be selling its merchandise.

Talking about the franchises marketing plans, Meiyappan said that the franchise began its marketing activities since January starting with the ?Yellow Card? membership. It is currently running a ?Name your Mascot? contest that has seen a huge number of entries.

?We began a focused drive to engage with our fans on Social Media platforms and that has given us stunning success. Our Facebook membership has crossed 1 million currently and we are hoping to make it 2 million by mid-season of IPL 5,? Meiyappan said.

He also revealed that the online ticket sales will begin 18 March.

As far as merchandise is concerned, the franchises is taking the first steps to move from being a sports based to a Lifestyle brand and is focusing on its signature team colour yellow as a first step. The franchise had earned Rs 35 million from merchandise last year.

?Based on wholesale prices, last season Reebok sold Rs 2.5 crores (Rs 25 million) of merchandise and Cool Maal, our official merchandise partner, sold Rs. 1 crore (Rs 10 million) worth of merchandise,? Meiyappan added.