Manchester United while revealing their third-quarter results up to 31 March on Thursday disclosed that the coronavirus pandemic has cost the club an initial £28m but expects the final figure to be far higher. This amount when converted to naira using universal currency converter, comes to about N13.3BN.
Chief financial officer Cliff Baty disclosed this while saying the club is set to hand back £20m in TV revenue to broadcasters even if the Premier League season is completed.
United said the club lost an additional £8m over the final three weeks of March when they had three matches postponed.
A total of 11 matches have been postponed because of the pandemic.
Speaking at a conference call after the latest financial results were released, Baty explained that Premier League television broadcasters would get £20m back from the club because of changes in dates and kick-off times resulting from the pandemic.
With games called off – including matches in the Europa League and FA Cup – Baty said that sponsorship revenues had “contracted”, and that retail sales had been “impacted” with the club store at Old Trafford still closed.
He added that matchday revenues were also “significantly impacted”, with games to be played behind closed doors for the foreseeable future.
“Our third-quarter results reflect a partial impact that the pandemic has had on the club but the greater impact will be in the current quarter and likely beyond,” said Woodward.
Revenues for the quarter fell by 18.7% to £123.7m. The club’s debt rose by £124.4m to £429.1m.
Baty said the postponement of the Premier League trip to Tottenham on 15 March cost United £4m alone.
“These are unprecedented times and we must recognize that this crisis will not disappear overnight,” said Woodward.
“However, our club is built on a solid foundation. We remain firmly optimistic about the long-term prospects for the club once we have worked our way through what is undoubtedly one of the most extraordinary and testing periods in the 142-year history of Manchester United.”
