United confirms Glazers haven’t taken dividend
MANCHESTER United has confirmed that that its owners, the Glazer family, have not taken out a dividend from the club in order to repay £220m of payment-in-kind loans.
A statememt from the club accompanying its results announcement for the three months to September 30 said that its board “can confirm that there has been no dividend of club cash.”
The results for Red Football Group for the first three months of the year to September 30 show that total turnover for the period increased by 9.7% to £63.3m due mainly to a 24.7% jump in money from commercial revenues, which were up to £16.1m.
The firm also said that earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were up to £16.1m (£15.4m). Its pre-tax loss fir the period also narrowed to £2.7m , compared with an £8.8m loss in the same period last year.
The club highlighted a number of achievements since its financial year end, including the agreement of a new five-year contract with striker Wayne Rooney and its unbeaten start to the season. It said that its balance sheet remained strong with net assets of £772.3m and an available cash balance of £151.7m.
However, its operating costs during the period increased by 12% to £47.2m, due largely to increased pay to players. Staff costs were up 14.6% to £33.7 million.
Capital expenditure also increased by £2.7m to £3.7m, due mainly to a major upgrade to executive box and suite redevelopment work which took place during the close season.
