Huddersfield post small losses for the Championship

The authoritative Swiss Ramble has reviewed the 2019/20 accounts of Huddersfield Town.

The club swung from £3m profit to £8m loss, as revenue fell £66m (56%) from £119m to £53m following relegation, partly offset by profit on player sales increasing £15m to £18m and player loans rising £3m to £6m, while operating expenses were cut by £37m, though interest was up £2m.

The £66m revenue fall was largely driven by broadcasting’s £59m (57%) decrease from £104m to £45m, due to lower TV money in Championship, though commercial also dropped £6m (59%) from £10m to £4m and match day fell £1m (18%) from £5m to £4m.  The £8m deficit was actually one of the better financial results in the Championship. Many clubs have reported much larger losses in 2019/20, including Stoke City £88m.

The revenue decrease was cushioned by the £42m Premier League parachute payment, though the COVID rebate reduced this by £2.6m. Despite broadcasting falling from £104m to £45m, it still accounts for 85% of total revenue, followed by match day 8% and commercial 7%.  The £53m revenue was still one of the highest in the Championship

If parachute payments were excluded, revenue would fall to £18m (£42m parachute less £2.6m rebate, replaced by £4.5m solidarity payment). This would have placed them in the bottom half of the Championship, around a third of top club Leeds £54m.

Huddersfield usually post small losses (for the Championship), though they made money both seasons in the Premier League (including a hefty £30m in 2018). The only large loss reported was £20m in 2017, which was adversely impacted by estimated £12m promotion bonuses.

The club have made £36m profit from player sales in last 5 years, including £18m in 2020. This year will benefit from sales of Grant, Mounié, Sobhi and Kongolo.

The wage bill was cut £34m (52%) from £64m to £30m, due to contractual reductions, proactive management of first team squad and increased use of Academy players. This is still £8m higher than the £22m wages the last time Town were in the Championship (including promotion bonus).  The  £30m wage bill was in the bottom half of the Championship, much lower than other recently relegated clubs.

The club had by far the lowest wages to turnover ratio in the Championship with 57%, only slightly higher than the club’s 53% in the Premier League. Vast majority of clubs in this division have ratios well over 100%.