? Newcastle loss incurred despite increase in gate receipts
? Owner Mike Ashley injected a further �42m into the club
Newcastle have revealed they made a loss of �17.1m as a result of their relegation from the Premier League in 2009.
However, the drastic action the club took to address their financial situation in the face of a reduction in turnover of 39% ? from �86.1m during the year covering the 2008-09 season to �52.4m ? means their losses increased only slightly from �15.2m.
But the annual accounts for the year ending 30 June 2010, which were submitted to Companies House on Wednesday, also show that the owner, Mike Ashley, had to inject a further �42m into the club despite an increase in gate receipts as more than a million fans attended games at St James' Park.
The latest figures do not reflect Newcastle's return to the top flight at the end of last season, with promotion worth anything up to �60m to successful clubs, nor Andy Carroll's �35m departure to Liverpool in January.
The managing director, Derek Llambias, said: "Our overriding aim in 2009-10 was to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. Relegation presented a considerable challenge for us financially. With such a marked reduction in turnover, largely due to reduced TV and media revenue, we needed to cut our operating costs accordingly without jeopardising our ability to return to top flight football straight away.
"We succeeded in reducing our wage bill considerably whilst maintaining the basis of a Premier League squad. It has been a significant achievement to keep our overall loss at a level similar to the year before despite the impact of relegation, and our ability to do this has been helped immeasurably by the continued financial support of Mike Ashley, who injected a further �42m into the club last year interest-free."
The club made an operating loss of �33.5m compared to �37.7m the previous year, but that was reduced to �17.1m by player trading. Obafemi Martins, Sebastien Bassong, Damien Duff, Habib Beye and Geremi were among those to depart as the Magpies attempted to cut expenditure.
However, revenue from television and other media fell 57% from �37.6m to �16m, although new sponsorship deals were struck with Puma and Northern Rock. That prompted the club's hierarchy to trim operating costs from �98m to �74.4m, a reduction of 24%.
But their determination to retain the services of enough Premier League-class players to launch a credible bid for promotion meant the wage bill still amounted �47.5m, despite a 33% drop from �71.1m.
As a result, the wages-to-turnover ratio increased to a staggering 90.6% from 82.6% earlier. The recommended level is 50%. The club's overall debt burden remained stable at �150m, although bank borrowings fell by �25m and were replaced by a loan of the same amount from Ashley, taking the total he has loaned the club to �139.8m, all of it interest-free.
Ashley, who also advanced �13m to cover the acquisition of January signings Danny Simpson, Mike Williams, Wayne Routledge and Leon Best, has enjoyed an uneasy relationship with large sections of the fans for much of his time at the helm. But that did not prevent Newcastle from recording an average home crowd during the reporting period of 43,388, the fourth highest in the country.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/mar/30/newcastle-united-premier-league-finance
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