Soccer-Sponsorships help bump up Man United's Q1 core earnings

Nov 18 (Reuters) - Manchester United on Monday posted a jump in first-quarter core earnings, boosted by increased revenue from sponsorship deals and as player wages fell after the English soccer club failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

United's core profit rose 18.4% to 34.8 million pounds ($45.05 million) for the three months to Sept. 30 and it reiterated its annual revenue and core earnings targets.

Revenue for the quarter was flat and the club said that the majority of the full-year impact from missing out on the lucrative European club competition would occur in the second quarter.

The 20-time English champions had warned in September that annual revenue would fall for the first time in five years as the club will not be able to capitalise on UEFA's broadcasting revenue distribution system.

($1 = 0.7724 pounds) (Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru, editing by Louise Heavens)