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Blades cut losses as cup campaigns boost sales

Rodney Hobson
Thursday 16 October 2003 00:00 BST
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Sheffield United, the current leader of the First Division, has slashed its losses thanks to last season's cup campaigns.

Turnover climbed 30 per cent to £13m in the year to June, and pre-tax losses fell to £411,000 from £1.84m.

Kevin McCabe, the chairman, said the club, known as the Blades, would have made "profits of real substance" but for the collapse in March 2002 of ITV Digital.

That reduced the club's income from television by £2.4m. But its success in the FA Cup and Carling Cup - it reached the semi-finals in both - brought in cup income of £1.5m. Gate receipts also rose and commercial sales almost doubled. That translated into an operating profit of £500,000, before amortising the value of players, compared with a £900,000 loss last time.

The club was also successful off the pitch. The Blades Enterprise Centre, which houses small businesses, is 95 per cent occupied. The building of a football academy was completed during the year.

The company raised £3.8m in an open offer in May, mainly to reduce debt. It moved its quotation to AIM to save money. The shares were unchanged at 9.25p, compared with 5p this time last year.

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