Chelsea FC plc today (Tuesday) announced our financial results for the year ended 30 June 2013, which when combined with those from last year will enable the club to satisfy UEFA’s break-even criteria within the Financial Fair Play regulations.
A group turnover of £255.8 million for the 12-month period is a record figure for the club, despite elimination from the Champions League at the group stage last season.
Although the Europa League was won, a reduction in income from that success compared with winning the Champions League in 2012 contributed to a loss for the financial year of £49.4m. A significant player trading profit and an exceptional profit on the cancellation of BSkyB shares in our digital media operation from a year earlier were also lost from this year’s accounts.
However, a 19 per cent rise in the club’s commercial income from £67m to £79.6m is a clear indication Chelsea FC is moving in the right direction in terms of business growth, as is a turnover figure that increased for a fourth consecutive year despite diminished European competition revenue.
The latest financial result combined with the previous year’s profit of £1.4m means for the first monitoring period for Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations – which spans the 2011/12 and 2012/13 seasons – we will fall comfortably within the break-even criteria set by UEFA. We have the fifth highest revenue of all football clubs in the world according to the latest published Deloitte’s figures.
Commercial income has benefitted from major new partnerships signed with Audi, Delta and Azimut Hotels. However, although the 10-year extension to our global partnership with adidas was announced in June 2013, the financial boost from the biggest deal to date the club has signed with a partner will be recorded from the 2013/14 accounts.
Chief Executive Ron Gourlay said: ‘For Chelsea FC to achieve a record level of turnover despite our first group-stage elimination from the Champions League shows we have structured our business and are growing in the correct way for long-term stability.
‘Our philosophy is we build upon success on the pitch and although in these financial results we haven’t repeated the sizeable profits made the previous year from player transfers, we believe the age profile of the existing squad means we will benefit from that investment for many years to come.
‘A successful team builds awareness around the world and our increased commercial revenues in 2012/13 and new or extended partnership deals demonstrate we are working hard to capitalise on that.’
Chairman Bruce Buck added: ‘From the very beginning of the current ownership of Chelsea Football Club, a long-term objective was financial sustainability, and the subsequent implementation of Financial Fair Play by UEFA and by the Premier League has brought that to the top of the agenda for football clubs.
‘We are pleased therefore that we will meet the stipulations set down by UEFA in their first assessment period, and by our own analysis we are progressing from a commercial viewpoint as well as continuing to add trophies to our collection, which we never lose sight of as our most important goal.’