£59.7m record signing Angel Di Maria)
Despite their on-pitch travails last season, Manchester United on
Wednesday announced a 19% rise in annual revenue to a record £433.2
million ($698.8 million, 539.6 million euros).
United floundered in their first season after the retirement of
long-serving manager Alex Ferguson, finishing seventh in the Premier
League and sacking his successor, David Moyes, but they continued to
thrive commercially.
Helped by a blockbuster £750 million 10-year deal with Adidas, the
club reported a 49 percent increase in sponsorship revenue.
Overall profit fell sharply, from £146.4 million to £23.9 million, but
mainly because United had received a one-off tax credit from American
assets worth £155 million in the previous year.
"We are very proud of the results achieved in fiscal year 2014 as we
once again generated record revenues," said executive vice-chairman Ed
Woodward in a statement.
"With Louis van Gaal at the helm as manager, and the recent signing of
some of the world's leading players to further strengthen our squad,
we are very excited about the future and believe it's the start of a
new chapter in the club's history.
"Louis's footballing philosophy fits very well with Manchester United
and he has an impressive track record of success throughout his
career, winning league titles with every club he has managed."
Partly due to their non-participation in the Champions League, United
expect their income to fall to between £385 million and £395 million
over the course of the current season.
They invested around £150 million on new players during the
close-season transfer window, including a British-record £59.7 million
swoop for Argentina international winger Angel di Maria.
The figures released on Wednesday also revealed that United paid out
£5.2 million in compensation to former Everton manager Moyes, who was
dismissed in April, and some members of his coaching staff.
United are without a win after three Premier League games this season
and were knocked out of the League Cup following a 4-0 loss to
third-tier Milton Keynes Dons.
- Third-place target -
But they could hand debuts to new signings Radamel Falcao, Luke Shaw,
Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind in Sunday's home game with Queens Park
Rangers.
In a conference call with investors, Woodward said that United's
target for the season was a top-three finish in the Premier League.
"Our budgets assume a third-place finish, as is ordinarily the case," he said.
"The 2013-14 season was a very challenging and disappointing one. But
under Louis there is a real feeling at the training ground that we are
at the start of something special."
Woodward also played down the chances of United spending heavily in
the January transfer window.
"We don't intend to significantly increase cap-ex (capital
expenditure) in January," he said.
"We will continue to monitor in association with Louis his view of the
squad and which areas we want to strengthen and which areas we want to
sell.
"The usual three in, three out is par for the course in the numbers in
and out each year, typically in the summer."
United's wage bill has risen 19 percent to £214.8 million, which the
club's annual report said was "primarily due to the impact of player
acquisitions and renegotiated player contracts".
No comments:
Post a Comment