The Swiss Ramble insists it's just a hobby, but his forensic analyses of club accounts are invaluable. Latest to come under the microscope are QPR.
The club's loss significantly decreased from £38m to £10m, largely due to no repeat of the previous season’s £20m FFP fine, though there was also operational improvement: revenue rose £3m to £35m, profit on player sales was up from zero to £3m, while expenses were cut by £7m.
The wage bill was cut by £7m (22%) to £24m, reducing the wages to turnover ratio from 98% to 69% - significantly better than the 195% of the Redknapp era. QPR's £75m wage bill in 2013/14 was the second highest ever in the Championship, only surpassed by Newcastle United £80m in 2016/17. Their wages have been reduced by over two-thirds (£51m) since then.
All three revenue streams were higher. Main increase was in broadcasting, which rose £1.8m (9%) to £22.0m, due to slight uplift in parachute payment and FA Cup run. Commercial was up £0.9m (15%) to £7.2m, while gate receipts were £0.5m (10%) higher at £5.4m.
The £10m loss was nowhere near the worst reported in the Championship. Very few clubs manage to make money in this extremely competitive division, though largest losses often from promoted clubs – including hefty promotion bonuses.
Profit on player sales was only £2.5m, though that was actually better than the prior season’s £137k loss, mainly thanks to Alex Smithies to Cardiff City. In fairness, Championship clubs don’t often make big money from player trading – except those relegated from the top flight.
QPR have consistently lost money over the years. Since Tony Fernandes arrived in August 2011, total losses have been £209m – or £269m if we exclude the £60m loan write-off that was questioned by the EFL. To be fair, underlying losses have been smaller in the last four years.
In the past QPR had to let players walk out of the door to get them off the wage bill. Player trading will be important for QPR going forward. This was emphasised by Director of Football Les Ferdinand: “The simple fact is every single one of our players is up for sale. That’s where the club is at this moment in time. If we receive the right offer, then they will go.”
Following relegation from the Premier League in 2015, QPR revenue has fallen by a hefty £51m from £86m to £35m. The decline has been cushioned by parachute payments, though these have fallen from £31m in 2017 to £17m in 2019 and will stop in 2020. Thanks to those parachute payments, QPR £35m revenue is still in the Championship top 10, though this is only around half as much as those clubs recently relegated from the top flight, e.g. Stoke City £71m and Swansea City £68m.
The club benefited from £17m parachute payments, which makes a total of £91m over the last 4 years. However, other clubs received much more, so Stoke City, Swansea City and WBA got £43m, while Hull City, Middlesbrough and Sunderland got £35m; and Aston Villa £16m.
Attendance fell slightly from 13,928 to 13,866, but crowds have decreased by around 4,000 (22%) from 17,800 in the Premier League. Ticket prices have been frozen for four seasons in a row. The club has been looking for a new ground for some time [to put it mildly]. CEO Lee Hoos: “This club is not financially sustainable in the long-term while we remain at Loftus Road” (now Kyan Prince Foundation Stadium).
Commercial income rose 15% (£0.9m) to £7.2m, comprising sponsorship and advertising £1.9m, commercial income £2.3m, sales of inventories £1.0m and other income £2.0m. This was mid-table in the Championship, but miles behind the likes of Leeds United £22m and Bristol City £16m.
QPR are currently 14th in the Championship, at no risk of relegation, but probably unlikely to make the play offs. The saga of a new stadium seems to have been going on for decades, but is surely key with Brentford moving into their new stadium next season and Fulham rebuilding at Craven Cottage.
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