Manchester United post record turnover figures

London: Manchester United posted a record £91.7 million turnover for the club`s third quarter.

Sponsorship revenue for the Red Devils has played a major factor in the results with a 52.2 per cent increase, along with a 27.9% rise of commercial income over the full nine-month period. Other benefactors are the broadcast sector, which shows a 21.7% rise, and the match day sector which has risen 34% on the corresponding three months last year. Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward explained on a conference call: "Each of our three primary sectors - commercial, broadcasting and match day - delivered strong top-line gains and helped us achieve a record third quarter for both revenue and adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation)." For all the increases in revenue, there has been increases in expenses. Total operating expenses increased 18.6% for the third-quarter and wages rose 25.1% to £44.9m, mainly due to new signings Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa. However, the club have started to take action in reducing the wage bill by offering Wayne Rooney a new four-year deal with a lower basic wage, exclusively revealed by Goal.com. And vice-chairman Woodward doesn`t expect many signings at Old Trafford in the summer, despite Sir Alex Ferguson`s claims he had been thinking of re-building his squad. "I wouldn`t expect there to be a major retooling of the squad," said Woodward. "There is incredible depth. We could put two first teams out with 11 internationals in each. "It has been a phenomenal season. We are a long way ahead in the Premier League and whilst I wouldn`t describe the way we got knocked out of the Champions League as luck things could have gone differently in that game. "We have a young squad and each of those are a year older. We are very comfortable with make-up of team and squad." The club expects the overall annual income to be £360m, and although the gross debt still stands at £367.6m, it represents a 15.9 per cent decrease on June 30 2012. Goal.com