Manchester United have recorded an all-time second profit of $289million that included record revenue of £226 million ($289 million based on current exchange rates), driven by strong matchday and broadcast revenue.
The club stated that, “We delivered strong revenues during the first half of the fiscal year and have reiterated our guidance for record revenues for the full fiscal year,” Cliff Baty, Man United CFO, said in a statement: “This is an exciting time at Manchester United following the completion of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment, and we are all focused on working together with our new co-owners to drive the club forward and deliver success on the pitch.
He added, “We delivered strong revenues during the first half of the fiscal year and have reiterated our guidance for record revenues for the full fiscal year,” Cliff Baty, Man United CFO, said in a statement “This is an exciting time at Manchester United following the completion of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment, and we are all focused on working together with our new co-owners to drive the club forward and deliver success on the pitch.”
At the weekend the company declared that its full-year guidance of revenue between $813 million and $851 million with adjusted EBITDA within a range of $160 million to $192 million.
Matchday revenue increased 59 per cent to $61 million, driven by two additional home games and the Champions League appearance.
Manchester United disclosed to the media that, the sum represents an initial portion of transaction-related expenses, with the remainder to follow post-completion.
The figure is likely to include a part-payment to the Raine Group, who handled United’s sale for the Glazer family and who will be paid $31.5million (£24.68m) overall.
United’s current borrowings remain at $650m (£509.35m), with an additional £266.8m, including interest, owed on a rolling credit facility.
The club’s total revenue for the six months to 31 December is £382.9million, a 23.1 per cent increase.
Cliff Baty, chief financial officer, revealed that, “This is an exciting time at Manchester United following the completion of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment, and we are all focused on working together with our new co-owners to drive the club forward and deliver success on the pitch.”
To achieved this financial milestone, it was believed that, all these came to past following the club’s decision to hand over complete control of finances to Sir Jim Ratcliffe after his appointment of a corporate restructuring firm to oversee a major cost-cutting drive at Manchester United which he hopes will free up more money to invest in the first-team squad and ensure the club do not flout Premier League rules governing spending.
Ratcliffe – who has been given complete control of football operations at Old Trafford as part of his £1.03 billion deal for a 27.7 per cent stake in the club – wants to maximise resources to ensure United have as much money as possible to spend on improving the squad and facilities while complying with financial rules.
