Manchester United reports record turnover of £590m

Manchester United today unveiled record revenues of £590m for the year to June 30, and an operating profit of £44m.

The Old Trafford club reported an adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of £177.1m.

And the Reds have set the bar even higher for their current fiscal year, with a forecast for revenues of £615m-£630m for 2019, and an adjusted EBITDA of £175m-£190m.

Executive vice chairman Ed Woodward said: “Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United’s 66 and Jose’s 25 trophies.

“That is what our passionate fans and our history demands.

“We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club.

“Our increased revenue expectation for the year demonstrates our continued strong long-term financial performance which underpins everything we do and allows us to compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive transfer market.”

In May the club issued figures for the third quarter, and nine month period, to March 31, 2018.

At the time it said it expected to report full year revenues of between £575m-£585m, and an adjusted EBITDA of between £175m-£185m.

For the nine month period revenues rose by 9.2% to £442.4m.

Over the nine months it reported a £37.5m profit before tax, up from £18.5m at the same point in 2017.

Today’s annual results revealed a £26.01m pre-tax profit, compared with £56.54m the previous year.

Commercial revenue for the year was £276.1m, an increase of £600,000, or 0.2%, over the prior year.

Sponsorship revenue was £173.2m, an increase of £1.7m, or 1%, over the prior year.

Retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue was £102.9m, a decrease of £1.1m, or 1.1%, over the prior year.

Broadcasting revenue for the year was £204.1m, an increase of £10m, or 5.2%, over the prior year, primarily due to finishing runners up in the Premier League compared with sixth in the previous year.

Matchday revenue for the year was £109.8m, a decrease of £1.8m, or 1.6%.

Total operating expenses for the year were £564m, an increase of £52.7m, or 10.3%.

Rising players’ wages led to an uplift in employee benefit expenses for the year of £295.9m, an increase of £32.4m, or 12.3%, primarily due to player salary increases related to participation in the UEFA Champions League.

Other operating expenses for the year were £117m, a decrease of £900,000, or 0.8%.

Net Debt, as of June 30, 2018, was £253.7m, an increase of £40.6m, primarily due to an overall decrease in cash and cash equivalents.

During the financial year the club clinched seven sponsorship deals, including its first shirt sleeve partnership with Kohler; five global partnerships; one regional partnership; and one financial services partnership.

It successfully launched the Manchester United new club website and app and the commencement of a new UEFA club competitions cycle with gross commercial revenue up 33% to €3.2bn.

And the Manchester United Women’s Football Club began competing in the the 18/19 FA Women’s Championship.