Addicks confirm 2013 losses

Charlton made an operating loss of £7.4m in the 2012/13 season - a marginal improvement of £69,000 on the previous year following promotion from League One.

 

A £1.7m profit on the disposal of players - up from £1.0m in 2011/12 - helped reduced the club’s overall loss for the year to £6.0m, compared to £6.8m in 2011/12.

 

However, by June 2013 the club owed parent company Baton 2010 Limited £18.4m - an increase of more than £9m on a year earlier. Against this bank loans and overdrafts reduced from £6.4m in 2012 to £4.8m in 2013.

 

The figures are disclosed in the annual company return recently lodged at Companies House and now available for public inspection.

 

They are in line with the information published by Voice of The Valley last autumn following the leaking of the due diligence report being used to offer the club to potential purchasers, although these included budget predictions for the fourth quarter.

 

The accounts disclose that the club has generated income from transfer fees (including contingency payments) of £570,000 in the current financial year (to January 17th, when they were signed off by the board), which will be substantially in respect of the sale of Jonjo Shelvey from Liverpool to Swansea.

 

The £1.7m in 2012/13 is attributed to contingent appearance payments from Shelvey, Robbie Elliott, Carl Jenkinson and - more unexpectedly - Frazer Richardson, who left The Valley in 2010 - as well as promotion clauses in the sale of Mark Hudson and Paddy McCarthy, and the transfers of youngsters Kasey Palmer and Ryan Huddart.

 

Turnover increased by £3.4m in 2012/13, of which £2.95m was increased central income from the higher TV and solidarity payments in the Championship.

 

Match day revenue was also up by 10 per cent, to £5.6m. Much of the increase, however, can be explained by the increase in the average number of away supporters between the two divisions. Given that season-ticket revenue climbed as numbers increased, home match ticket sales must have declined following promotion.

 

The report notes in particular a “small decrease” in programme income, which it attributes to supporters turning to new media for information.

 

Other commercial income fell by more than £400,000, which the report explains as a consequence of the franchising out of the club’s retail operation, meaning only the royalty received form Just Sports appears in the turnover of £1.4m.

 

It says that discounting retail there was growth of 5 per cent in such turnover, although this might still be considered modest against the background of the club returning to the higher division, with the increased media exposure and commercial opportunities that this brings.

 

Operating expenses were up £3.0m to £17.3m, reflecting the increase in player wages resulting from promotion. The total staff costs of £12.0m represented 101 per cent of turnover, as opposed to 104 per cent the previous year.

 

Nevertheless, there was almost no growth in non-football staff, which increased by one to 56, while the football side rose from 73 to 90, reflecting the increased numbers of academy support staff.

 

There was no change in the £4.4m due to former directors during the year, although the similar loan to Richard Murray reduced from £4.15m to £3.27m. Murray also continued to underwrite the overdraft of £800,000 at June 30th, 2013.

 

The report notes that the ultimate holding company is now Staprix NV, which is 95 per cent owned by Roland Duchatelet, although Baton 2010 remains the immediate parent company.

 

 

 

BACK NUMBERS

To order issues published between April 2013 and April 2022, please see the back issues pages. VOTV124, VOTV127 and 176 are sold out.

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