United to reveal £12.3m drop in annual profits

Manchester United are set to confirm a £12.3m (€17.95) drop in annual profits to £46m (€67.1m) tomorrow.

The figures represent the first to be released since Malcolm Glazer completed his takeover in the summer, but include only three months of the new ‘Glazer era’.

United chief executive David Gill forecast the potential for a fall 12 months ago, with reduced TV money from the Premier League and lower income from the Champions League the key elements behind the announcement.

While an even earlier exit from Europe this season means there is no immediate prospect of profits rising substantially when the next set of results are announced in 12 months' time, Gill is confident the outlook for 2007 is particularly rosy.

“Like any business, we aim to push profits up year on year but our performance in the Champions League will have a knock-on effect,” Gill told BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme.

“The forecast for 2006 is very good but I am not going to predict profits will be over £50million.

“But going forward, the new stadium expansion means there will be nearly 8,000 extra seats from the start of next season and the end of 2007 is looking very positive.”