Manchester United finances: Club announce record revenues despite seventh-placed finish
Manchester United may have endured a turbulent time on the pitch last season, but off it, they continued to make remarkable progress.
The club released their financial accounts for the 2013-14 season today, which revealed a mammoth total revenue of £433.2m, a 19 per cent increase on last season's £363m.
United's struggles on the pitch culminated in the sacking of David Moyes which the accounts reveal cost the club £5.2m. Yet that tiny hit was offset by big increases in commercial and broadcasting revenues and a 51.1 per cent rise in net income to £28.7m.
Commercial revenues increased 24.1 per cent to a record £189.3m accounting for 43.7 per cent of the total revenue. During the fiscal year the club announced a total of 12 regional and global sponsorships, including a £327m shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet.
Meanwhile, thanks to the first season of the Premier League's bumper £3bn TV deal with BT Sport and Sky Sports, United enjoyed a 33.7 per cent rise in broadcasting revenue to £135.9m.
Matchday revenue did slightly drop to £108.1m however, as the season before last had offered the rare opportunity to stage lucrative Olympics Games fixtures at Old Trafford.
In a warning to investors, the club added they did not expect such positive results in a year's time, with revenue predicted to slip to around £385m to £395m.
Vice chairman Ed Woodward said:
We are very proud of the results achieved in fiscal year 2014 as we once again generated record revenues and EBITDA driven by our commercial and broadcasting businesses which delivered impressive year over year growth.We also recently announced a record breaking deal with Adidas and very much look forward to launching this partnership next summer.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.
In July the Glazers sold a five per cent stake in the club on the New York Stock Exchange, earning £88m in the process.
Manchester United's owners have generated vast amounts of income from the club, yet have been criticised by many fans for the club's huge debts. The club's debts were reduced by 12.2 per cent last season, however they still loom large at £341.8m