Manchester United announce record revenue of £581m & £81m profit in latest financial report

Manchester United have announced record revenues and profits in their latest set of annual figures.

The Old Trafford club turned over a staggering £581.2m and banked £80.8m, accounts released on Thursday lunchtime show.

Both figures smash previous records of £515.3m turnover and £68.9m profit, which were set last year.

United’s gross debt however, remains the same as the net debt highlighted in the figures subtracts cash in the bank.

The club’s debt, linked to the Glazer family’s 2005 takeover, dropped from £260.9m to £213.1m.

The report projects that United’s revenue for 2018 will be somewhere between £575m and £585m.

United’s wage bill, which includes player acquisitions up to June 30, rose by £31.3m to £263.5m, which represents the biggest outlay in the Premier League.

Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman, hailed the figures.

‘We concluded a successful 2016-17 season with a total of three trophies and a return to Champions League football,’ he said.

‘The year saw us set record revenues of over £581m and achieve a record EBITDA of £199.8m. We are pleased with the investment in our squad and look forward to an exciting season.’

Elsewhere, United’s commercial revenue was up to £275.5m, an increase of £7.2m on the previous year. Rises were also recorded in sponsorship and retail which rose £6.7m. This was down largely to the club taking control of various elements of merchandising.

Mobile and content revenue decreased by £1.7m to £9.2m. United are understood to be letting a number of deals run down before boosting their own production of content.

United brought in £194.1m in broadcasting revenue, a big increase of £53.7m, thanks largely to the Premier League’s new rights agreement and their progression to the Europa League final.

Operating expenses rose £74.7m to £511.3m thanks in large part to the rise in wages.