Manchester United profits slip despite record revenues

Manchester United saw their revenues hit a record £123m in the three months to September 30, while profits dropped by £3.9m.

Although revenues reached an all-time high in the first quarter of the club’s 2016 fiscal year, profits fell to £5m from £8.9m during the same period in 2014, a year-on-year drop of 43%.

Conversely, United achieved growth across all three of their core revenue sources. Commercial revenue hit £71.2%, a rise of 25.4%, but the club saw the biggest growth spikes in their Broadcasting (64.3%) and Matchday (64.2%) earnings, which hit £27.6m and £24.8m respectively.

United have attributed the Matchday revenue growth to their participation in the UEFA Champions League.

As well as signing a number leading players during the three-month period, including German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and Italian full-back Matteo Darmian, the club also announced a series of new partnerships.

In September, United teamed up with IT services company HCL Technologies to strengthen their digital operations, a month after partnering with South Korean game developer Nexon.

Elsewhere, the club saw their adjusted EBITDA surge by 104.9% to reach £41.6m in the quarter.

Ed Woodward, the executive vice chairman of Manchester United plc, said of the results: “Our record first quarter revenues and EBITDA demonstrate the continued strength of our businesses.

“We are delighted with the early progress made in licensing.”

The club is now predicting its total revenue for the fiscal year ending in 2016 to reach between £500m and £510m, with adjusted EBITDA expected to sit between £165m and £175m. According to the BBC, no club has ever exceeded a revenue of £500m.