Manchester United announce record second quarter revenue of £122.9m

Things are looking up for Ed Woodward and United off the pitch

Whilst things are looking far from rosy on the pitch, off the pitch, it is a whole different ball game altogether. As of Wednesday, Manchester United posted record profits including a whopping 11.6 percent jump in second quarter revenues, which was largely due to rising commercial and broadcasting sales.

Latest reports from The Daily Star are that the club have posted a record second quarter revenue of £122.9 million, with a pre-tax profit of £19.8 million for the quarter leading to December 31, 2013. The figure is up £800,000 on the corresponding period in 2012. As per analysts’ predictions, United are once proving just why they are one of the most profitable sports clubs in the world.

The increase in revenue over the final quarter of 2013 was thanks in large part to their increase in sponsorship, commercial and broadcasting revenues. The sponsorship revenue for the second quarter was £20.9m – an increase of £8.2m – with six new deals coming through, including ones with Fuji TV and Banif Bank. The commercial revenue was up 18.8 per cent for a total of £42.3m, whilst the broadcasting revenues also saw a similar rise in per cent, with £46.9m respectively.

While staff costs saw a 16.7 per cent increase as a result of player acquisitions and renegotiated contracts and stand at £51.6million, thanks to increased profits, the club are still poised to make a record breaking end to the financial year.

All of this meant that the gross debt was reduced by 2.7 per cent to £356.6m, which is in addition to the £72million in the bank, which Moyes is expected to spend on transfers.

With a bumper TV contract and a new kit deal with Nike that is reportedly worth $1 billion, United are forecasting revenue of around £420-430m for the current season, which would be up from the record £363m they generated last season.

And while the club’s executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has failed with his transfer targets, he has certainly worked wonders off the pitch.

“We once again achieved a record revenue quarter with strong contributions from our commercial and broadcasting businesses despite the current league position, which everyone from the team manager down has acknowledged is disappointing,” he said.

“We continue to see meaningful opportunities to grow our commercial business and the popularity of football on TV is leading to continued broadcasting revenue growth, all of which bodes well for the long-term stability and financial strength of our business.

If United can bring their off-field success on the pitch, then David Moyes’s first season in charge of the club wouldn’t be a complete disaster.