Arsenal Report Losses As Revenues Rise
Arsenal have reported a loss of £45.5m for the year ending 31st May 2022.
The loss for the year after taxation was £45.5m but was a significant improvement on the prior year’s loss (2021) of £107.3m.
The 2021/22 season was the first for 25 years in which the men’s first-team had failed to qualify for UEFA European competition. The loss of the revenue associated with UEFA football was the principal contributory factor in terms of the overall result for the year.
The return of supporters to home matches, as restrictions associated with the Covid pandemic were eased, meant that the result for the year was considerably improved against the prior period, which had been adversely impacted by £85m of Covid attributable losses.
Football revenue for the year was £369.1m, up from £327.6m in 2021. The return of supporters across 23 home fixtures (19 Premier League and 4 EFL Cup) meant matchday revenue grew to £79.4m compared to just £3.8m in the pandemic impacted prior year.
However, broadcasting revenues fell to £146.0m due to the lack of UEFA broadcasting revenue and the fact the prior year had included TV revenue for more than just a single season, due to the Covid delayed completion of the 2019/20 campaign.
Commercial revenues improved totalling £141.7m whilst overall wage costs reduced to £212.3m from £244.4m in 2021.
On the player side, there has been a process of restructuring the men’s first-team squad to improve the efficiency of spend; this includes changes made in earlier years but where the full benefit has only been realised in the 2021/22 figures.
The total profit on sale of player registrations was £22.2m and player loans amounted to £2.0m.
During the year there was limited activity in the Group’s property development business, however, a one-off sale of a former Emirates move relocation site saw revenues rise to £2.8m.
Following additions to player registrations at a cost of £187.9m and amortisation charges, the book value of intangible fixed assets (player registrations) was increased to £333.5m.
Qualification for the UEFA Europa League for 2022/23 represents a positive first step and can be viewed alongside the start to the 2022/23 season which has so far been encouraging.
Source: www.arsenal.com
