Wigan report net profit of £4.3m

It is the first time in six years that the club have turned in a profit

Wigan this morning reported a net profit of £4.3million for the year ending May 31.

It is the first time in six years that the club have turned in a profit, with the sum considerably different to the £7.2million net loss they reported 12 months ago.

The figures cover the 2011-12 season which ended with the Latics in 15th place, with turnover up from £50.5million to £52.6million.

Wigan said on their official website that while salaries remain their biggest expense, they had trimmed them from £39.9million to £37.7million, with £10.4million spent on new players. The sale of Charles N'Zogbia to Aston Villa meant they brought in £7.9million of profit on player sales.

The club's debt, including borrowings and loans from chairman Dave Whelan and his family reduced to £20.5million from £72.2million, with £48million of it converted into equity.

"The results are once again encouraging and we are very pleased to report a net profit position in a very competitive environment," said chief executive Jonathan Jackson.

"By increasing turnover and controlling costs the club is continuing to progress to a break-even operating position which all football clubs are aspiring to but many are finding it difficult to achieve."

Manager Roberto Martinez welcomed the news ahead of the Latics' home clash with Manchester United in the Barclays Premier League tomorrow.

He said: "This is very exciting news because more than anything it allows us to build a very strong future for Wigan Athletic.

"It's very rare in modern football to be able to get those sort of results and obviously, for a club like ours, we have always relied on our chairman at the end of the season to balance the books and to put money in, so it's refreshing and it's a different way to work.

"It shows how hard we had to work behind the scenes in every department to be able to produce those results. But most significantly now we'll be able to invest that money in improving our facilities to take the football club to a different level."

Making a profit will enable Wigan to significantly improve their training facilities, a project Martinez hopes will be completed in just over a year.

He said: "In 1999, moving to the new stadium gave the football club a different angle of what we wanted to achieve.

"Now is a very similar year in terms of investing in the structure and the facilities that will give us a massive boost to become a football club that is close to reaching our long-term ambitions.

"It's an exciting project. We're working already with the architect and our timescale will be trying to complete everything over the next 13-14 months."

PA