Arsenal reveal £30m drop in profits in latest financial results

The Gunners' £6.7m pre-tax profit for 2013
represented a fall from the £36.6m recorded
in 2012, with funds from player sales in
particular accounting for the dip
Arsenal have announced their 2012-13
financial results, revealing a £30 million drop
in pre-tax profits from their 2011-12 figures.
The Gunners' group profit amounted to £6.7m
for the year-ending May 31, 2013 - while their
pre-tax profit for the previous year totalled
£36.6m.
Robin van Persie's £24m move to Manchester
United helped account for a total of £47m in
player sales although that figure fell short of
the £65.5m recuperated the year before, with
the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Gael Clichy and
Samir Nasri leaving the club.
Arsene Wenger invested £58.7m in the
purchase of new players, while contract
extensions, including a four-and-a-half-year
deal in the region of £90,000 a week for Theo
Walcott, pushed amortisation charges up to
£41.3m - a £4.5m rise from 2012.
Turnover from football, meanwhile, increased
to £242.8m from the 2012 figure of 235.3m,
with the Gunners reaping the financial benefits
of their various commercial tie-ins, including
the extended partnership with Emirates.
Reflecting on the results, Arsenal chairman Sir
Chips Keswick said: "It is my job to ensure we
steer further along the course we have set.
"We must continue to grow commercially to
provide the club with the best opportunity to
achieve success and we must do this in a way
which remains true to our values and which
ensures and protects the long-term
sustainability of the club.
"We face a competitive landscape across the
top of the Premier League and across Europe’s
elite clubs which is tougher than ever. Despite
fair play initiatives the financial competition
for top players remains intense and transfer
prices and player wages continue to move ever
higher.
"It is therefore positive that the strong
financial platform we have created in recent
years allows us to continue to be competitive
at the highest level."