Man Utd chief executive hails ‘off-pitch transformation’ as profit rises

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada said the club are reaping the “positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation” after their latest financial results showed an increase in profit despite a fall in revenues.

Although United’s men’s team are without European football this season, they generated an operating profit of £32.6million in the first six months of the fiscal year, compared with a £3.9m loss for the same period last year.

The operating profit for the most recent quarter was £19.6m, compared to £3.1m in the same period last year.

Those numbers come after minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe oversaw a widescale redundancy programme and restructuring of the club, and in announcing their latest figures, United said they were seeing “the positive impact of operating cost and headcount reduction programmes implemented in the prior year”.

United’s total revenues for the second quarter of the financial year were £190.3m, down from £198.7m for the equivalent period the previous year, with commercial revenue dropping from £85.1m to £78.5m and matchday revenues down from £52m to £49.5m.

But with a revived United up to fourth in the Premier League under Michael Carrick, and Marc Skinner’s side second in the Women’s Super League and through to the quarter-finals of the Women’s Champions League, United believe they are well placed for a further rise in profits going forward.

“We are now seeing the positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation materialise both in our costs and profitability,” Berrada said. “We continue to take a football-first approach and invest in both our men’s and women’s first teams.

“On the pitch our men’s team sits fourth in the Premier League and our women’s team are second in the Women’s Super League, as well as reaching the League Cup final and the quarter-final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

“Today’s results demonstrate the underlying strength of our business as we continue to push for the best football results possible for our men’s and women’s teams.”

United say they remain on track to record revenues of between £640m and £660m for the full fiscal year.