(NYSE: MANU), Manchester United, the only sports franchise that is publicly traded, today announced fourth quarter and fiscal 2014 results on Wednesday.
Three big takeaways:
1.) the financial impact of sacking David Moyes (having to buy out his contract early)
2.) the record profits and revenue for the year
3.) the expected financial hit taken by missing out on Champions League
The club announced annual revenue of £433 million today. That’s a record! Manchester United also booked profits of £23.8 million.
Ticket sales have been as strong as ever, merchandise sales are soaring and the franchise just signed a lucrative new kit deals with Chevrolet and Adidas.
However, in fiscal 2015, Manchester United expects revenue to drop to 385 million pounds and 395 million pounds. The club expects profits in the range of 90 million pounds to 95 million pounds.
Ed Woodward, Executive Vice Chairman said on conference call today:
“We are very proud of the results achieved in fiscal year 2014 as we once again generated record revenues and EBITDA driven by our commercial and broadcasting businesses which delivered impressive year over year growth. We also recently announced a record breaking deal with adidas and very much look forward to launching this partnership next summer.”
Shares of Manchester United stock were trading down 3.34% on this news. MANU opened at $15.56 today but dipped substantially. The last quote was $15.04 despite the fact that the company reported earnings that were better than expected.
Manchester United “beat the street” as they say in Wall Street parlance.
Paul M. Banks owns and manages The Sports Bank.net, in partnership with Fox Sports and Yahoo. Read his feature stories in the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. Listen to him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 The Zone. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks)