Rovers return

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has reviewed the 2018/19 accounts of Blackburn Rovers.  He notes, 'Loss widened by £1.4m from £16.8m to £18.2m, despite revenue increasing by £7.7m (86%) from £9.0m to £16.7m following promotion, as operating expenses grew £8.6m and profit on player sales fell £0.5m to £0.6m.'

Main reason for the club's £7.7m revenue growth was the higher TV deal in the Championship, which meant broadcasting almost quadrupled, rising £5.5m from £1.9m to £7.4m. There was also good growth in commercial, up £1.2m (28%) to £5.5m, and match day, up £1.0m (35%) to £3.7m.

The club's revenue growth was more than offset by the cost of competing in a higher division, as wages rose £5.6m (34%) from £16.8m to £22.4m, player amortisation nearly tripled from £0.8m to £2.2m and other expenses increased by £1.5m (20%) to £9.1m.  The £18m loss was the seventh worst in the Championship, though in fairness only seven clubs made money in this very competitive league.

The club only benefited from £0.6m profit from player sales, around half the previous season’s £1.1m. Only Preston made less money from this activity than Blackburn. In contrast, large profits reported by Bristol City £38m, Boro £33m, Swansea City £30m and Brentford £27m.

Since Venky’s arrival in 2010, Rovers have only once made a profit – in 2012 when last in the Premier League (boosted by £23m player sales). In that period, they lost £151m, some achievement considering they had two seasons in top flight followed by four with parachute payments.

The club's financial challenge is highlighted by the fact that their £17m revenue was fifth lowest in the Championship, only above Brentford £15m, Rotherham £14m, Preston £14m and Wigan £12m. For some perspective, this was less than a quarter of WBA and Stoke City (both £71m).

Average attendance was up to 14,508 following promotion, though crowds held up well in League One, actually showing a small increase to 12,832. That said, this is nearly 11,000 less than the 25,427 achieved in the Premier League in 2009/10 when Blackburn finished 10th.

The wages to turnover ratio fell from 187% to 134%, which was also better than 147% when last in Championship two years ago. It’s still far from ideal, but is the norm in this division, where 14 clubs are above 100%, much worse than UEFA’s recommended 70% upper limit.