BARNSLEY Chairman Mr Gordon Shepherd has released the following statement.
Now that the Club has approved and received its audited accounts for the year ending 31 May 2006, I thought that our fans might be interested in learning more of our financial progress and current situation.
To briefly recap, you will recall that the losses for the year ending 31 May 2004 were some £3,650,000 which reduced in the year ending 31 May 2005 to £1,240,000.
This financial year has shown a massive improvement and I am pleased to report that our nett losses have been reduced to £186,000. I am also delighted to say that this year the Club has actually made a small operating profit of £128,000.
Perhaps outlining the headline figures about our revenues and losses might be helpful.
Year End | Income | Operating Loss | Operating Profit | Nett Loss |
2004 | £3,893,000 | £2,700,000 | £3,680,000 | |
2005 | £4,159,000 | £1,009,000 | £1,240,000 | |
2006 | £4,558,000 | £128,000 | £186,000 |
From the above you will note that progress is being made towards a position of financial stability although we are now contractually in the time frame where rent for the ground has become due.
Some fans have approached me and asked about the monies which we received from the play offs and the transfer of Scott Flinders and I have been only too happy to explain.
First of all the play offs were not nearly as profitable as most of us would have expected. Unfortunately the semi final revenues from all four participating teams are pooled and, after expenses are deducted, the first 50 per cent goes to the Football League and the remaining 50 per cent is split equally between the four clubs irrespective of their specific gates sizes. As you will no doubt appreciate our games against Huddersfield produced the majority of the revenue but the rules state that all four semi finalists must be paid equal shares which unfortunately disadvantaged us.
The Final, though profitable, was again subject to large costs both for the Stadium andFootball League. Added to those costs were the incentives which we paid to the squad and the management team which unfortunately meant that there was much less available for the Club than people might imagine. These are not complaints or indeed excuses, they are simply the facts for you to accept or reject as you see fit.
The transfer of Scott Flinders to Crystal Palace is detailed as follows.The deal with Crystal Palace was that they would pay a guaranteed amount of £350,000 with £150,000 of that sum being paid in July 2006 followed by £200,000 to be paid in July 2007.In addition there is an agreed structure of payment for games played and other incentives which should realise up to another £600,000 and we also have a substantial sell on clause.
I am also aware that some fans believe that this season we will receive considerable sums for TV appearances but unfortunately nothing could be further from the truth.The cash awarded for TV appearances is £10,000 for an away match and £60,000 for a home game.At the present time this equates to £80,000 for this season unless more of our games are televised.The suggestion that we will earn in excess of £600,000 this year from Sky TV is complete and utter nonsense and how some fans can come up with such these massively inflated figures absolutely amazes me.Unfortunately such rumours are often believed.
You will perceive therefore that cash control and financial self sufficiency remain essential elements of our medium and long term strategies and tight financial controls must remain in place.
May I stress again that our twin objectives for this season remain tight financial control together with retaining our place in the Championship. We continue to try to identify suitable players who will strengthen our squad and that search will continue.
Mr Gordon Shepherd
November 16, 2006