By Yadarisa Shabong
(Reuters) -Manchester United raised their annual core profit forecast on Friday to levels last seen before the pandemic as the club’s strong performance in the Europa League drove ticket sales and broadcast revenue.
Ticket sales jumped more than 50% to 44.5 million pounds in the three months to March as the club had a good run in the Europa League, before losing the finals to Tottenham Hotspur.
United’s New York-listed shares rose 4.4% in U.S. premarket trading.
The club’s annual core profit, which excludes player trading and finance cost, is expected to jump 21% to 28% to a range of 180 million to 190 million pounds for the year ending June.
United had their worst Premier League season since they were relegated in 1974 and hopes of participating in a European competition next season were dashed after they lost the Europa League final.
“We had a difficult season in the Premier League, which we all know fell below our standards and we have a clear expectation of improvement next season,” CEO Omar Berrada said in a statement.
United’s absence from European competitions, which are lucrative sources of broadcasting revenue, deals a huge blow to the club’s future finances and has drawn anger and disappointment from fans.
Jim Ratcliffe, who holds a stake of about 29% in the club and runs their football operations, has taken steps to revive the club’s fortunes, including by cutting jobs, raising ticket prices and stopping free lunches at staff canteens.
United reported a net loss of 2.7 million pounds for the three months ended March 31, smaller than the 71.5 million pounds it posted a year earlier.
The Glazer family, who own a majority of the club, have faced strong criticism from fans for saddling the club with debt, overspending on players and putting off investments on infrastructure.
Manager Ruben Amorim said in May that the club did not need a big squad since they were not playing in the Champions League.
In March this year, United announced plans to build a new 2-billion-pound 100,000-seat stadium, next to the existing Old Trafford.
($1 = 0.7383 pounds)
(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Anil D’Silva)
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