Manchester United's transformation plan delivers quarterly profit despite revenue drop

Manchester United said on Wednesday it turned a profit in the second quarter as its cost-cutting measures began to bear fruit, though lower sponsorship revenue and ticket sales after missing out on European competitions reined in earnings.

Over the past year, the club has resorted to cutting jobs, staff lunches and other cost-saving measures after six consecutive years of financial losses, brought on by underperformance both on and off the pitch.

“We are now seeing the positive financial impact of our off-pitch transformation materialise both in our costs and profitability,” CEO Omar Berrada said.

After an inconsistent run in the English Premier League since last season, the 20-time English champions have seemingly found their footing under interim manager and former midfielder Michael Carrick, who replaced head coach Ruben Amorim in January.

Under Carrick, United have been the most in-form team in the league in 2026. They currently sit fourth with 48 points, and have a good chance of qualifying for next season’s UEFA Champions League tournament.

United’s results come weeks after minority owner Jim Ratcliffe was forced to apologise for saying the UK had been “colonised by immigrants”, drawing widespread criticism, including from Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the club’s fan groups.

The club’s debt swelled 37% to 295.7 million pounds at the end of 2025, while cash and cash equivalents fell to 44.4 million pounds from 95.5 million pounds a year earlier.

United reported a net profit of 4.2 million pounds ($5.67 million) for the quarter ended December 31, compared with a loss of 27.7 million pounds a year earlier.

The club maintained its annual revenue forecast of between 640 million pounds and 660 million pounds, and profit of 180 million to 200 million pounds.