In 2022/23 Southampton’s pre-tax loss shot up from £15m to £87m, as revenue fell £5m (3%) from £151m to £146m and profit from player sales dropped £24m from £31m to £7m. Operating expenses rose £36m (19%) to £224m, while net interest payable was up 76% from £9m to £17m. The loss after tax was even higher at £94m, due to a £7m tax charge.
Southampton have now reported losses five years in a row,
adding up to nearly quarter of a billion pounds, which has completely wiped out
the preceding five years of profits. The
decline in Southampton’s profitability is partly due to making less money from
player trading, which had been a key part of the club’s strategy.
Southampton’s £77m operating loss was one of the worst in
2022/23, only better than three clubs, though they were much higher: Aston
Villa £139m, Everton £120m and Wolves £101m.
Importance of
broadcasting revenue
The main reason for the reduction in Southampton’s revenue
was broadcasting, which fell £7m (6%) from £115m to £108m, due to worse
performance on the pitch. In contrast, match day rose £1.8m (10%) from £17.4m
to £19.2m, while commercial was slightly higher at £18.4m.
Southampton’s £108m broadcasting revenue was one of the
smallest in the Premier League, probably the lowest of all once every club has
published 2022/23 accounts. Only two
clubs were shown live on fewer occasions than Saints, which also cost them. For
example, the Big Six had at least twice as many live games.
TV money is incredibly important to Southampton,
contributing 74% of their total revenue last season. In 2021/22 only three
Premier League clubs were more reliant on broadcasting income.
Southampton’s £18m commercial income was one of the lowest
in the Premier League, only above Bournemouth in 2022/23. The gap to the Big
Six clubs is absolutely huge, e.g. Manchester City lead the way with £341m,
while sixth placed Arsenal’s £169m is nearly nine times as much. Relegation will inevitably mean a fall in
this revenue stream, as the value proposition to sponsors is much stronger in
the top flight.
Of course, relegation will have a massive impact on
Southampton’s revenue. Looking at the clubs that went down in the previous
three seasons, they could anticipate a revenue reduction of around £60m. Their Premier League TV distribution, worth
£104m last season, will be replaced this season by a parachute payment of
around £44m. If they don’t get promoted, this will reduce to £36m in the second
year, then £16m in year three.
One of the main reasons for the deterioration in
Southampton’s bottom line was a substantial drop in profit on player sales from
£31m to £7m, which was mainly from Oriol Romeu’s move to Girona.
However, this season will be very different, as Southampton
have made a great deal of money from player sales, including Roméo Lavia to
Chelsea, Tino Livramento to Newcastle United, James Ward-Prowse to West Ham,
Nathan Tella to Bayer Leverkusen and Mohammed Salisu to Monaco.
Even including the exceptional payments for change in
management, Southampton’s £122m wage bill was still towards the lower end of
the Premier League. To place this into
context, their wages were less than a third of Manchester City’s £423m and
Liverpool’s £373m. This helps explain
why Southampton’s performance on the pitch has deteriorated, as their wage bill
has basically remained unchanged, while other clubs have caught up and
overtaken them.
Southampton still spent well over a quarter of a billion
pounds in the transfer market over five years, but the harsh reality is that
this is really not enough in the Premier League these days. Southampton’s £239m squad cost was one of
the smallest in the Premier League, which again helps explain why things became
more challenging for the Saints.
Owner funding
Between 2016 and 2022 Southampton did not receive any owner
funding. In fact, they actually repaid £13m of owner loans, as Katharina
Liebherr sold up and Gao Jisheng was unwilling (or unable) to provide funding
following Chinese law changes. However,
that changed last season, when Solak put £85m into the club in five separate
tranches, which has diluted the shareholding of Katharina Liebherr to below
20%.
Other Premier League owners have put in a lot of funding,
which has made Southampton’s position even more difficult. For example, in the
five years up to 2022 owners at five clubs provided more than £200m, namely
Everton £574m, Chelsea £416m, Aston Villa £351m, Brighton £216m and Arsenal
£211m.
After a few years of no investment from the previous
ownership, Solak spent a fair bit in an attempt to catch-up, but it is clear
that he was up against it, as Southampton had been overtaken by their rivals. The influx of young talent made sense from a
financial perspective, but it is debatable whether it was the right approach in
the circumstances and may well have been a contributory factor to the club’s
relegation.
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