Manchester United report record total revenues of £590m for the year ending 30th June 2018.
The financial juggernaut that is Manchester United continues to roll on as the club reports record revenues for the twelve months ending June.
Despite finishing second in the Premier League to rivals Manchester City, United’s commercial capabilities continued to flourish with an operating profit of £44m with projected revenues for 2019 to be between £615m to £630m.
The accounts, released today, show the club continues to be attractive to companies with the addition of seven sponsorship deals during the accounting period which includes the club’s first shirt sleeve sponsorship deal with Kohler.
Commercial revenue for the year was £276.1m, an increase of £0.6m, or 0.2%, over the prior year whilst sponsorship revenue stood at £173.2m, an increase of £1.7m but retail, merchandising, apparel & product licensing revenue decreased £1.1m to £102.9m.
However, earnings were buoyed by a 5.2% (£10m) increase in broadcasting revenue for the year taking earnings to £204.1m, primarily due to finishing runners up in the Premier League compared to sixth in the prior year. Matchday revenue for the year was £109.8m, a decrease of £1.8m over the prior year.
Total operating expenses stood at £564m, an increase of £52.7 million, or 10.3%, over the prior year whilst employee benefit expenses were £295.9m, an increase of £32.4m, primarily due to player salary uplifts related to participation in the UEFA Champions League.
Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman, commented: “Everyone at the club is working tirelessly to add to Manchester United’s 66 and Jose’s 25 trophies. That is what our passionate fans and our history demands.
“We are committed to our philosophy of blending top academy graduates with world class players and are proud that, once again, last season we had more academy graduate minutes on the pitch than any other Premier League club.
“Our increased revenue expectation for the year demonstrates our continued strong long-term financial performance which underpins everything we do and allows us to compete for top talent in an increasingly competitive transfer market.”
Image: PA Images
