Arsenal reported a pretax profit before exceptionals for the year to end May of £26.9m compared with £15.9m the previous year. Operating profit before depreciation and player trading was £51.2m against £13.7m the year before.
However, taking the exceptional – the £21m charge on the £260m stadium debt, pre-tax profit dropped to £5.6m from £15.9m the year before.
Sales grew by 46% to £200.8m from £137.2m previously, making Arsenal the second richest club by turnover in the world, behind Real Madrid.
Match day revenues more than doubled to £90.6m compared with the £44.1m achieved in the previous season – its last at Highbury – an average of over £3m for each game at the Emirates.
Cash reserves increased to £73.9m, from £38.3m the previous year, with Arsene Wenger managing to bring in income on player transactions.
Other notable facts from yesterday’s announcement were:
• 41,000 people are on the season ticket waiting list
• The final cost of developing the Emirates was £430m
• The £260m long term fixed rate debt include interest rates of 5.14% on £210m of fixed rate bonds with a 23-year term, and 5.97% on £50m of floating rate bonds with a 25 year term
• The present £255m net debt is projected to be £76m by 2010
• Although between £15m-£16m is expected from the new broadcasting deal, match day revenues have now replaced broadcasting as the club’s main source of income.
A buoyant mood even saw talk of expanding the Emirates yesterday. The Guardian said: Fresh feasibility studies will ultimately be conducted with the local authority, police and fire brigade to evaluate how spectator entry and exit congestion could be managed. “It wouldn’t be easy and it wouldn’t be cheap,” said a source involved in the original Ashburton Grove project, “but it can be done.”
Most fans will be relieved to hear that Keith Edelman and Peter Hill Wood were adamant they would resist any takeover moves, pointing out that they can count on over 5% of loyal support from shareholders to get over the 50% mark. Edelman pointed out the developing relationship with Stan Kroenke who owns 12% of the shares.