Manchester United sets revenue goalposts at £420-430m for 2014 as global brand grows
Football club Manchester United has posted record annual revenues of £363.2m, up 13.4 per cent on the last full year (release).
Commercial revenues are up 29.7 per cent to £152.5m, 42 per cent of the club's total revenues. During the year the club announced seven global sponsorship partnership, four regional spartnership and nine financial services and telecom agreements.
Manchester United's global brand continues to grow as well:
Reached 34 million Facebook followers and 32 million unique records on our CRM database compared to 26 million and 15 million respectively a year ago.
Now revenue is expected in the £420m to £430m range for the 2014 fiscal year.
Joe Rundle, heading of trading, ETX Capital:
For a football club so highly leveraged, Man United managed to pay down debt over the period which now stands at £389.2million, down 11% on the year.
The floatation on the stock market was driven by the club’s much needed task to pay down its hefty debt pile, which caused much dismay amongst fans. The reduction in debt for that reason should quell fears for any fans and investors who felt that listing on the market was not the right direction for the club. Clearly, listing on the stock market is paying off and will continue to do so with current FY revenue growth projected to be between £429m to £430m.
Since the listing, Sir Alex Ferguson has retired and David Moyes hired as new manager – plenty of worries in the market about how this may impact Manchester United stock. Can’t tell for another year as these figures reflect Ferguson’s leadership, but if the club finish third in English Premier League and reach quarter finals in the Champions League, it’s likely they will reach FY targets. This all means, more pressure on Moyes to follow the success of his much loved predecessor. Much is now dependent on success on the pitch.