Following their Champions League triumph last season, Liverpool have announced a pre-tax profit of £42 million ($54m) and a record turnover of £533m ($688m) in its latest annual financial report.
The Merseyside club made this known in a statement on Thursday by its chief operating officer, Andy Hughes. He noted that Liverpool recorded a pre-tax profit of £125m ($161m) in 2019 with the sale of Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona shooting the figures up.
According to Hughes, Liverpool generated the profit due to the lucrative new UEFA Champions League broadcast deal, a second-place finish in the Premier League last season, and a series of new commercial partnerships. As a result, Liverpool’s three major revenue streams rose due to their success on the pitch last season and also continuing in the same fashion this season.
The Reds’ commercial revenue rose from £34m to £188m ($243), media revenue increased by £41m to £261m ($337m), while match revenue moved from £3.5m to £84m ($108m). With these figures, Liverpool have been able to reduce their debts and increase profits significantly.
According to Hughes, Liverpool’s wage bill also moved up from £263m ($339m) in 2017/18 to £310m ($400m) in 2018/19. He noted that the bill remains at around 58% of the club’s turnover, adding that Liverpool spent an unprecedented £223m ($288m) on the club’s playing squad.
Hughes said during the 2018/19 season, the club spent part of the money on signing the likes of Alisson Becker, Naby Keita, Fabinho and Xherdan Shaqiri. Liverpool also gave out long-term contracts to no fewer than 11 first-team players, such as club captain Jordan Henderson and the front three of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.
He noted that Liverpool also continued with their new £50m ($65m) state-of-the-art training facility in Kirkby, which will is set to be ready in June for pre-season training. Hughes noted that the club occupied seventh place in the Deloitte Football Money League released in January, having climbed up two spots in 2019.
Their net bank debt has been cut from £46m to just £12m ($15m), while their intercompany debt, which relates to a loan club owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) took out to finance the building of Anfield’s new Main Stand, is down from £100m to £79m ($102m). Liverpool plan to use their existing credit facilities to finance their proposed £60m ($77m) redevelopment of the Anfield Road stand, with no need for a second loan from FSG.
Liverpool continues to succeed and grow commercially with nine new partners joining the club in the year up until May 2019. The new partners are AXA, Intel, Levi Strauss, Lavazza, Verbier, Tigerwit, NH Doods, PB Bintang and Nord VPN. The club’s official stores surpassed 1m sale for the first time which was recorded by its retail team.
The club’s international expansion plans have also grown with a new retail partner announced in Malaysia, club shop opened in Thailand and new selling channels on Amazon in USA, Canada and Germany. E-commerce orders, the club says, were shipped to over a record 190 countries worldwide.
The club’s global social media followers increased by 26 percent to nearly 70m. LFC’s official YouTube channel reached 2.5m subscribers and is the most followed club in the Premier League. Twitter also increased by 11 percent to 13.5m and reached 59m total engagements during the 2018-19 period – 6m more than any other Premier League club.
The statement read: “This continued strengthening of the underlying financial sustainability of the club is enabling us to make significant investments both in player recruitment and infrastructure.
“Being able to reinvest over £220m on players during this financial period is a result of a successful business strategy, particularly the significant uplift in commercial revenues.
“The cost of football however does continue to rise in transfers and associated fees but what’s critical for us is the consistency of our financial position, enabling us to live within our means and continue to run a sustainable football club.”
Hughes added: “What we’re seeing is sustained growth across all areas of the club which is aligned to the recent performance on the pitch. Since this reporting period, we have continued to reinvest in the club’s infrastructure, and we look forward to the opening of our new training base at Kirkby ahead of the new season which will provide first-class facilities for our players and staff.
“We have also just completed a second phase consultation on a proposed expansion of the Anfield Road Stand which could see an increase in the stadium’s capacity, giving even more supporters the opportunity to see the team. There is more work to do and, importantly, we will continue our dialogue with all key stakeholders including local residents, businesses and community groups.
“These financial results and this sustained period of solid growth is testament to our ownership, Fenway Sport Group, who continue to support the club’s ambitions and continue to reinvest revenues both in strengthen the playing squad and the club’s infrastructure to build for the future.”
The club’s off-field growth is set to continue with a lucrative new five-year kit deal with sportswear giants Nike, its Champions League success and Premier League triumph. According to reports, Liverpool may soon overtake Manchester United as the Premier League’s No.1 club revenue earner.
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