LONDON, (Reuters) – Manchester United are relying on a better performance on the pitch to boost earnings after a barren season pushed the English Premier League club deeper into the red in its first results since flotation.
United, owned by the American Glazer family, failed to win a trophy last season for the first time since 2005 and made an early exit from the lucrative European Champions League, meaning lower income from sales of matchday tickets and TV rights.
The cost of those failures was apparent as the club made a loss from continuing operations of 14.9 million pounds ($24.2 million) in the three months to end-June 2012. Last year the club made a loss of 400,000 pounds in the same period.
United floated on the stock market in New York last month at $14 per share, valuing the 19-times English champions at $2.3 billion in a deal that left the Glazers firmly in control of the club. The shares have drifted lower since then and were trading at $12.69 at 1600 GMT, down 2 percent on the day. The club has debts of 437 million pounds.
United are keen to portray last season’s failures on the pitch as a one-off and underline the commercial value of a club which claims 659 million followers globally.
However, the inherent uncertainty of sports has often made investors wary of buying into listed soccer clubs.
“As if proof were needed, football clubs are inextricably linked to what happens on the pitch,” said Richard Hunter, head of equities at Britain’s Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. “Manchester United’s early elimination from the Champions League last season has impacted broadcasting revenues, taken 2.5 percent off the shares in New York in early trade and left investors nursing a 10 percent loss on the price since flotation in August,” he added. United did not qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions’ League last season, only the third time in 17 years that they had failed to progress in that competition.
The club forecast a brighter 2012-13, based on an expectation that the team will at least reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and domestic cup competitions.
It said underlying earnings (EBITDA) should rise by 17-20 percent to 107-110 million pounds. Revenue was likely to be between 350-360 million pounds, up from 320 million pounds last year.
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United lost their English Premier League title on the last day of the season to local rivals Manchester City, bankrolled by cash from Abu Dhabi.
However, United retain powerful commercial appeal thanks to their global fan base, many of whom are in Asia. The club has just signed a record $559 million shirt sponsorship deal to have the Chevrolet brand on its red shirts for seven years from 2014.
