Man United On Track To Be First £500m UK Club

Manchester United (NYSE: MANU - news) is on track to achieve its ambition of being the first British football club to rake in £500m in a year.

The Premier League club's first quarter results showed that revenues rose 39% on the same period last year to £124m.

It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) cited its return to lucrative Champions League football which boosted its broadcast and matchday income following a season away from Europe's top club competition.

United said four new sponsorship deals were completed in the three months to 30 September, helping commercial revenue rise 25% to £71m.

The revenue figure was also supported by the start of its new Adidas (Other OTC: ADDDF - news) kit deal - worth £75m annually.

Its core profit measure - known as EBITDA which reflects the underlying profitability of the company on a day-to-day basis, rose 105% to £41.6m.

But total profits fell 44% to £5m in the period - hit largely by a £7.4m loss on player trading.

The club's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: "Overall we have a good start to the season - we are well positioned in the Premier League and top of our group in the Champions League.

"Our record first quarter revenues and EBITDA demonstrate the continued strength of our businesses."

The club maintained its guidance that full-year revenues were expected to come in between £500m to £510m.