Man United profits take a 20 percent dip |
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Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:05
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LONDON - The world's most popular football club Manchester United saw profits slip by about 20 percent last year. A drop in media revenues was blamed for this profits slide in the year, which saw the club being taken over by US-based Malcolm Glazer in a deal worth £790 million.
The top flight Premier League club is expected to release figures, which show that the operating profits at the club dipped from £58.3 million to £46 million in the 11 months ending June 31. The main problem was the club's dismal performance in the Premier League, which saw it drop to the third place behind Chelsea and Arsenal.
This result meant that media revenues dipped to only about £7.7 million. The forecast for the current year also looks bleak since the club is out of the lucrative UEFA Champions’ League and is second in the Premiership table; too far behind leaders Chelsea. "The forecast for 2006 is very good but I am not going to predict profits will be over £50 million," said the club's chief executive David Gill.
"Like any business we aim to push profits up year on year but our performance in the Champions League will have a knock-on effect. The new stadium expansion means there will be nearly 8,000 extra seats from the start of the next season and the end of 2007 is looking very positive."
In other expenses incurred by the club, Gill said that £2.2 million had been paid as agent's fees, out of which £1.5 million was spent for Wayne Rooney's transfer from Everton. But Gill said that United would rethink the policy of revealing agents' fees if other top clubs did not follow suit, "While the club feels this disclosure is the right course of action, we do not believe it is helpful that United remain the only FA Premier League club to publish such figures," he observed. The club was de-listed in June last year when the Glazer family took over.
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