Manchester United’s second quarter fiscal 2024 results signify that a new era has begun at the club, but there still remains a lot of work to be done.
Cliff Baty, Chief Financial Officer, commented: “We delivered strong revenues during the first half of the fiscal year and have reiterated our guidance for record revenues for the full fiscal year.”
While the Premier League club’s debt still stands at £773.3m, its recent financial results for the three months ending December 31, 2023 show record Q2 revenues of £225.8m, with the club attributing this record to its participation in the UEFA Champions League.
Although the club crashed out of the Champions League during the group stages, its early exit from Europe will only be reflected in forthcoming financial results.
This positive figure is also supported by the club announcing the appointment of Omar Berrada as CEO, who has joined the club from local rivals Manchester City and will take over from Richard Arnold. Berrada is the latest in a wave of new appointments conducted by new co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
Zoning in on revenue, broadcasting revenue was £106.4m, an increase of £47.6m over the prior year quarter. Match day revenue also increased by £17.7m to £47.6m, with both revenue streams increasing due to the club participating in the Champions League and not the Europa League.
However, commercial revenue for the quarter was £71.8m, a decrease of £6.9m. This was due to sponsorship revenue experiencing a decrease of £11.2m to £39.2m. Despite merchandising, apparel and product licensing revenue increasing by £4.3m to £32.6m, which the club explains is due to its extension with Adidas.
Potentially the most notable feature of the report is Ratcliffe’s primary investment of $300m, in which $200m was received upon completion of his deal earlier this year. This coupled with the absence of any dividends being taken from the club, signifies the change in the way Manchester United is being run.
Baty added: “This is an exciting time at Manchester United following the completion of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s investment, and we are all focused on working together with our new co-owners to drive the club forward and deliver success on the pitch.”
The club also reiterated its creation of an ‘Old Trafford Regeneration Task Force’ that will explore options for revitalising the Old Trafford area, with a focus on constructing a world class football stadium.
