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Articles on football club company financial results – interim or full-year.
Securing promotion is particularly important for Brighton and Hove Albion this season otherwise they may fall foul of financial fair play rules. Championship clubs are allowed to lose £39m over three seasons, but the Seagulls made a £25.9m loss in 2015-16. The allowance is much more generous for Premier League Clubs or even for yo-yo clubs, plus revenues in the top flight are so much higher.
Manchester United’s debt has risen by 18 per cent to £338m, in part because of the Brexit vote and the consequent worsening of the dollar-pound exchange rate.
Results for the three months to 30 September saw revenue drop by 2.8 per cent while operating profits were down by 35 per cent to £6.2m. This was largely because of the club’s absence from the Champions League.
Norwich City’s year in the Premier League saw them move from the red into the black with a loss of £5.3m turned into a profit after tax of £9.4m. Income in 2015-16 jumped to just over £100m from £53.6m the previous years.
Manchester City have dropped far behind Manchester United in terms of overall wage bill, the club’s annual report shows. City, who once had the largest Premier League salary costs. had a wage bill of £196m, putting them on a par with Arsenal and below United’s figure of £232m for 2015/16 and Chelsea’s £215m for the previous season.
Wages amounted to 50 per cent of turnover, the figure recommended by accountants Deloitte. Three years ago City were penalised by Uefa for breaching financial fair play rules.
Juventus made an operating profit of €4.1m on revenues of €397.9m in the financial year. This is a respectable outcome, and a small improvement on the preceding year, but concerns remain.
The club remains highly reliant on television money. Its commercial revenue amounted to €73.5m in a year compared with €278.1m at Bayern Munich.
Bolton Wanderers fans have been assured that the club’s finances are ‘on the right track’. The club’s accounts, which were due in March, have not been submitted to Companies House, but this should happen soon. It is one of the factors delaying the lifting of a transfer embargo on the club.
Manchester United have become the first English club to break through the half billion barrier in terms of revenues in a financial year. They earnt £513.3m in their 2016 fiscal year, compared with £395.2m the previous year. They made an operating profit of £68.9m and a net profit of £36.4m.
Income was boosted by winning the FA Cup and 14 new sponsorships. Commercial revenue was up 36.3 per cent to £268.3m. This more than offset the substantial compensation of £8.4m paid to Louis van Gaal and his team.
Indifferent results on the pitch have done no harm to Manchester United’s financial results with the club announcing record quarterly earnings which mean that they are on track for year end revenues of £500m or more.
Revenues were £123.4m, up just under 30 per cent on the same period last year. There was a profit of £11.7m compared with a loss of £7.1m last year.
Massino Cellino has said that he is ready to quit Leeds United: ‘I’ve had enough.’ The owner told The Times, ‘It’s better to walk out, not because I’m dishonest but because I’m tired and hurt and lonely,’ as violin music welled up in the background.
He continued, ‘I have no happiness any more and don’t know if I have the enthusiasm for next season. If I could turn back time and you ask whether I would come to this club, I would say never. I’ve never been so confused. I am nearly 60 and I would never have expected that from Leeds.’
Bournemouth made a £38.3m loss in the Championship last season. The loss was mainly due to players’ wages. The salary bill of £30.4m was more than double the club’s turnover.
Wages went up by more than 76 per cent in one year, including performance bonuses for winning promotion. The ratio of salaries to turnover was 237 per cent. I cannot recall such a high ratio among top flight clubs.