By David Owen
November 3 – Southampton, the south-coast club that has re-emerged in recent times as an established, stylish and widely-admired Premier League outfit, has posted another highly satisfactory set of financial results.
The club, known as The Saints, has reported a profit on ordinary activities before interest and tax of £17.6 million for the year ended June 30, 2015. The previous season, the pre-tax profit had reached the giddy heights of £28.7 million, the third-highest in the division after Tottenham Hotspur – who cashed in on one-time Southampton starlet Gareth Bale – and Manchester United.
Gareth Rogers, chief executive, said the latest figures offered “a clear indication of the group’s sound underlying business operations, supplemented by recent player trading. As planned, the surplus generated through player trading has been reinvested into the playing squad through transfer fees, additional wages to new and existing players and respective deal costs.”
The club has supplied a veritable cornucopia of talent to rivals such as United and Liverpool in recent close seasons, with Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana, Nathaniel Clyne and Morgan Schneiderlin among those making the trek from Hampshire to Lancashire. Saints have nonetheless contrived to remain highly competitive under Dutch manager Ronald Koeman, currently lying seventh in the league, level on points with Liverpool.
Revenues of the financial vehicle – St Mary’s Football Group Limited – climbed around 7%, from £106.1 million to £113.7 million, with commercial revenue advancing more than 20% to just over £10 million.
Wages climbed relatively steeply, from £55.2 million to £70.8 million, although the club said the latter figure included “the cost of onerous and cancelled contracts from historical player trading of £8.3 million”.
Said Rogers: “The future looks positive thanks to the strong financial governance that is now in place, yet the management are well aware of the balance that must be struck between on-going sustainability and investment to achieve sporting success.”
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