By Elvira Pollina and Giulio Piovaccari
MILAN (Reuters) -Juventus said on Friday it would ask shareholders for up to 200 million euros ($212 million) of fresh capital as the Italian soccer club posted another yearly loss and predicted it would stay in the red this fiscal year.
The Serie A club, which has been controlled by the Agnelli family for a century, said parent company Exor would support the capital increase.
Juventus has already raised around 700 million euros from its shareholders over the past four years in two separate operations. Roughly two thirds of these cash calls were covered by Exor, the investment arm of the Agnelli family.
Exor, which has a stake of around 64% in Juventus, will pump up to 128 million euros into the club as part of the new capital increase, the Turin-based club said.
IN THE RED
Juventus said on Friday it forecast another loss in the current fiscal year due to the negative impact of its exclusion from lucrative European competitions this season.
In the fiscal year to June 30, 2023, Juventus posted a consolidated loss of 124 million euros, bringing its cumulated losses to over 700 million euros in six years. It last posted a net profit in 2016-2017.
The latest loss however was around half of the record deficit of some 240 million euros in the previous fiscal year. The result was helped by the fading impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Juventus said.
Italy's most successful club has been in turmoil in recent months.
Hit by an accounting scandal linked to player trading and salary payments, it suffered a 10-point deduction in the last Serie A season, a 718,000 euro fine and a ban from this season's European competitions.
Juventus has denied wrongdoing and said its accounting is in line with industry standards.
The company has called a shareholders' meeting to approve results on Nov. 23.($1 = 0.9454 euros)