November 19 – Manchester United are now feeling the pain of failure to qualify for the Champions League in the boardroom. The club has announced a revenue fall of almost 10% (£9.8 million) for the three months to September 30 in comparison to the same period in 2013.
The Champions League effect is felt via a loss of bonus payment from Nike for qualification as well as the loss of match day income and broadcast revenue.
For the full financial year that ends in June 2015, the club is predicting revenue to be £385-395 million, a £40 million drop on 2014 full year figures. Club chief executive Ed Woodward emphasised that the “2014/15 fiscal year financial results will reflect our absence from the Champions League”.
The financial position could have been worse. Operationally the club has cut its player wage bill slightly, while it has signed a number of new sponsorships, most notably the £750 million 10-year deal with Adidas.
The club points to its five match tour in the US which saw a cumulative audience of more than 360,000, including a record US attendance of 109.318 in Michigan, however the club did say that tour sponsorship revenue was slightly reduced on the previous year.
Over the period sponsorship revenue had increased overall by £1,1m to £46.3 million.
Retail and product licensing revenue was down £2.9 million (the reduced Nike guarantee) while mobile and content revenue was down £2.7 million due to the expiry of a number of mobile partnerships. No detail was given on this but it can logically be expected that this revenue will bounce back with mobile content’s growing importance and strength.
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