Manchester City financial results: Club announce first profit since Sheikh Mansour takeover
Manchester City have recorded a profit for the first time since billionaire Sheikh Mansour bought the club in 2008.
Last season’s Premier League runners-up yesterday announced a £10.7m profit for the year ending 31 May 2015, compared with a loss of £22.9m the previous year.
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Annual revenue was a record £351.8m, up from £346.5m and the second highest in the top flight after neighbours Manchester United. The club put the improvements down to reduced expenditure and an increase in commercial income.
Commercial and broadcast revenue rose four per cent to £173m and two per cent to £135.4m respectively, but matchday revenue fell by nine per cent to £43.3m as the club carried out work on the expansion of the Etihad Stadium and suffered an early exit from the Capital One Cup last season.
Current Premier League leaders City have spent more than £1bn on players and infrastructure projects since Mansour took over, this summer breaking the club's transfer record on £57m man Kevin de Bruyne, but did manage to reduce their wage bill from £205m to £193.8m in the last year.
Club chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak said:
We are now a profitable business with no debt and no outstanding restrictions
All metrics point to the right kind of accelerated commercial growth and that development is also in large part due to the City Football Group strategy that has been rolled out over the last two years.
The group creates global scale and at the same time regional and local expertise in all aspects of operations. It is a credit to all those involved and in particular to the leadership of Ferran Soriano [City chief executive].