Losses widen at Rovers
BLACKBURN Rovers saw losses rise to more than £40m last year, while Wigan Athletic made a small profit.
Blackburn’s accounts, which cover last season, have been handed to shareholders but not yet filed with Companies House.
According to the Lancashire Telegraph the Championship club made a £42.1m pre-tax loss, while net debt rose by £25.3m to £79.8m. Turnover increased from £26.9m to £30.4m and wages dropped from £36.6m to £34.5m.
Meanwhile, fellow Championship side Wigan said it made a net profit of £2.6m in the year to May, up from £800,000. Turnover fell to £37m from £56m in 2013 as a consequence of relegation from the Premier League.
Total expenses including salary costs and amortisation of player contracts fell to £47m from £63m. Salary costs fell to £30m compared to £44m in the previous year. Profit from the sale of players was £13m, primarily due to the sale of James McCarthy and Arouna Koné to Everton.
Chief executive Jonathan Jackson said: “The financial results are again satisfactory following the significant impact of relegation from the Barclays Premier League. For the third year in succession, we are able to report a healthy position in respect of profitability and debt in an historic season during which the team competed in Europe, another FA Cup semi-final and a Championship play-off semi-final.
“The parachute payments received from the Premier League continue to provide protection from the huge reduction in income and enable us to comply with financial fair play regulations. Unfortunately, we fell just short of our aim to achieve promotion at the first attempt and despite a disappointing start to this season we are committed to achieving success in a fiercely competitive environment.”
Blackburn Rovers declined to comment.
