Third quarter revenues and profits rise at Manchester United
Manchester United drove up revenues and profits in the third quarter, to March 31, the club’s latest figures show.
Turnover of £152.068m was up from £147.059m in the same quarter last year.
A pre-tax profit of £11.117m showed an improvement on the previous year’s £8.294m achievement.
During the period the club appointed Ole Gunnar Solskjær as its permanent manager on a three year contract, Manchester United Women were promoted to the Women’s Super League, winning the FA Women’s Championship title, the club announced a global partnership with Marriott, and a global partnership and licensing agreement with Maui Jim eyewear.
Executive vice chairman, Ed Woodward, said: “After a turbulent season, everyone at Manchester United is focused on building towards the success that this great club expects and our fans deserve.
“Preparations for the new season are under way and the underlying strength of our business will allow us to support the manager and his team as we look to the future.”
For the current financial year, the club said it expects to achieve revenues of between £615m to £630m, and an adjusted EBITDA of £175m to £190m.
Today’s results reveal that commercial revenue for the quarter was £66.6m, unchanged from the prior year quarter.
Sponsorship revenue for the quarter was £41.6m, also unchanged from the prior year quarter, while retail, merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue for the quarter was also unchanged at £25m.
Broadcasting revenue for the quarter was £53.8m, an increase of £4.4m, or 8.9%, over the prior year, primarily due to the new UEFA Champions League broadcasting rights agreement and playing one additional Premier League game.
Matchday revenue for the quarter was £31.7m, an increase of £600,000 or 1.9%, over the prior year quarter.
Employee benefit expenses for the quarter were £84.8m, an increase of £9.7m, or 12.9%, over last year, mainly due to investment in the first team playing squad.
Net debt, as of March 31, 2019, was £301.7m, an increase of £400,000 over the year.
