By Paul Nicholson
February 15 – Manchester United’s corporate investors are having as happy a time off the pitch as the team is currently having on it. The two are linked.
In a week that saw Manchester United extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to 12 points, and a 1-1 draw away to Real Madrid in the Champions League put them in a strong position to go through to the next round, the second quarter financial statement came against a positive backdrop.
The financial results show a record second quarter with revenue up to £110 million (up 8.7%) and EBITDA (a measure of profit), up to £50.2 million (up 11.8%). This quarter covers the final three months of 2012.
Ed Woodward, executive vice chairman of Manchester United, said: “With half the year completed, we remain on track to achieve our original targets of fiscal 2013 of revenue between £350 million to £360 million on adjusted EBITDA between £107 million and £110 million.”
Woodward emphasised that reaching these figures for the full year will require the team to reach the next round (quarter finals) of the Champions League.
The second leg of the current round will be played at all Old Trafford on March 5, with each round of the competition at this stage being worth about £5.5 million in revenue and £4 million in EBITDA.
“Our recent performance was fuelled by the addition of central, global and regional sponsorship signed over the last 12 months. Together, with double digit growth in our retail merchandizing and licensing business and an increasing broadcast revenues,” said chief operating officer Michael Bolingbroke.
The latest figures have been significantly fuelled by a series of new sponsorship deals, regionally in Asia, plus two global.
“During the quarter, we executed six new sponsorship agreements adding to our already strong portfolio of global and regional partners. Of the six, two were global, Kansai and Singha, the last of which is renewal of an existing deal that was extended by another three years; two of them are regional deals, Wahaha and Multistrada and two are financial services, China Construction Bank and Denizbank,” said Bolingbroke.
The club has also agreed a key training kit sponsorship agreement, buying out the remaining two years of its deal with DHL, and will make a formal announcement of this deal in the coming months.
Core to United’s success is its fan base, estimated at 650 million worldwide. In the past year, the club’s CRM database has almost doubled to more than 25 million names – a key attraction for new club sponsors.
An important long term strategic move was the purchase of BskyB’s stake in MUTV giving the club full control of its global television channel.
Channel changes will not be immediate but expect them. Bolingbroke said the acquisition will give the club “further opportunities and flexibility ahead with regard to the digital media offering”.
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