Mariners operated at $5.8 million profit in 2012

PEORIA, Ariz. -- The Mariners made a $5.8 million profit for 2012, according to figures released to the Public Facilities District Board on Monday.

The club indicated the profit margin as part of its calculations toward determining an eventual profit-sharing agreement with the PFD in the Safeco Field lease.

The lease runs from 1996 through 2018 and the Mariners agreed at its inception to share 10 percent of their eventual profits with the community, through the PFD, once $200 million of losses incurred from the ownership group while playing at the Kingdome from 1995 to 1999 was eliminated.

The PFD owns and oversees operations of Safeco Field. An agreed-upon PFD calculation to determine that debt reduction includes the club's annual profit or loss, which in 2012 was $5,863,000. That number reflected the July trades of Ichiro Suzuki and Brandon League, two of the club's higher-paid players, in return for prospects after the team was out of contention.

For purposes of the PFD debt reduction, a different calculation is used that takes the net income based on GAAP [generally accepted accounting principles] and then adjusts on several other factors. For 2012, that meant adding a depreciation/amortization of $25.9 million and subtracting player signing bonuses of $18.9 million, as well as non-ballpark capital expenditures of $2.1 million and ballpark capital expenditures of $2.8 million.

That yielded a PFD special calculation figure of $7,968,000. When deducted from the previous year's total, the original $200 million debt figure is now down to $37 million. Once that number is eliminated, future profits will be shared with the PFD.