Manchester Utd vows to improve on and off pitch after fifth year of losses

By Yadarisa Shabong and Shashwat Awasthi

(Reuters) -Manchester United's new chief said on Wednesday the club was working towards improving performance on and off the pitch after a fifth consecutive year of net losses following a poor 2023-24 season and heavy investments in the new squad.

The English Premier League soccer club's shares slipped 8% in early U.S. trading as net losses widened to more than 113 million pounds ($147 million) in the year to June, making it only the second time since its New York listing in 2012 that losses topped 100 million pounds.

United have embarked on a slew of changes since British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe bought a 25% stake in the club and under his stewardship had a busy summer in the transfer market, securing several promising young players.

"We are working towards greater financial sustainability and making changes to our operations to make them more efficient, to ensure we are directing our resources to enhancing on-pitch performance," newly appointed CEO Omar Berrada said.

"Our clear objective is to return the club to the top of European football."

The Premier League has clamped down on big spending by clubs with its Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR) to try to level the playing field and prevent rich owners from spending vast sums on players.

To comply with PSR, clubs must rack up no more than 105 million pounds of losses over a three-year period, although investments in infrastructure, academies, charity foundation and women's soccer can be deducted.

United have recorded losses of more than 257 million pounds in the past three years, and more than 370 million pounds over five years. The club said it was committed to and compliant with the PSR, as well as European governing body UEFA’s Financial Fair Play Regulations.

United finished eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest position since the league's inception in 1992. This season has not started any better, with two losses from the first three games.

For fiscal 2025, the club expects an adjusted core profit of 145-160 million pounds and revenues of 650-670 million pounds. It reported adjusted core profit of 147.7 million pounds on record revenues of 661.8 million pounds in fiscal 2024.

The forecast reflects the impact of recent restructuring that included 250 job cuts.    

($1 = 0.7663 pounds)

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong and Shashwat Awasthi in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Medha Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alexandra Hudson and Mark Potter)