adminLONDON. — English football giants Manchester United announced record financial results yesterday after a year of rapid commercial expansion.Having added a glut of new sponsors to their portfolio over the past 12 months, the 20-time English champions saw revenues rise 29.7 % to £152.5 million for the year ending June 30, 2013.
The leap in revenues helped the club from the English northwest register a 13.4 % increase in turnover to a club-record figure of £363.2 million, while debt fell 10.9 percent to £389.2 million. United floated on the New York stock exchange last year, in a bid to tackle the huge debt loaded onto the club by American businessman Malcolm Glazer’s takeover in 2005.
Sponsorship revenue alone in the 2012-13 period rose 44.1 5 to £90.9 million. The club revealed that “exceptional items” costs of £6.2 million were partly due to the contracts of coaching staff members Mike Phelan, Rene Meulensteen and Eric Steele being cancelled following the departure of long-serving manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the end of last season.
Despite the impressive figures, United moved cautiously during the close-season transfer period, waiting until the final day of the window before sanctioning a £27.5 million move for Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini. — AFP.
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