Manchester United’s quarterly profits fall 76%

Manchester United have failed to reach the fiscal highs of 2015 in their latest trading quarter.

The club’s total revenues for the three months to September 30 stood at £120.2m, down year on year by 2.8%.

Against the lowered earnings, United’s Q1 profit fell by 76% to £1.2m, while adjusted EBITDA for the period dipped by 25% to £31.2m.

MUFC’s net debt rose during the quarter to £337.7m, which is £51.5m more than the same point in 2015.

Bosses have attributed the increase to the impact of foreign exchange rate movements on the club’s USD-denominated debt.

Of Manchester United’s core revenue streams, matchday earnings saw the sharpest fall, dropping by 32.3% to £16.8m. Takings from broadcasting operations, conversely, leapt by 5.4% to £29.1m.

Commercial revenues also grew, rising by 4.4% to £74.3m.

Of the club’s commercial streams, Sponsorship and Mobile & Content both fell slightly in comparison to Q1 2015 (by 4.1% and 3.8% respectively), but Retail, Merchandising, Apparel & Product Licensing grew by 22.9% (to £27.4m).

Ed Woodward, Manchester United’s executive vice chairman, commented: “While our financial results for this quarter reflect the impact of our non-participation in the UEFA Champions League, we are pleased that we remain on track to deliver record revenues for the coming year.

“During the quarter we added a number of top quality players to our squad, which once again demonstrates our determination to challenge for trophies.”

For the full 2016/17 financial year, Manchester United expects to achieve a revenue of between £530m and £540m.

In the year to June 2016, MUFC became the first club in history to turn over more than £500m in a 12-month period.

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