Manchester United financial results: Old Trafford club reports £21.1m half-year loss as Donald Trump's tax reform hits

Increased broadcasting revenue did, however, help United post an increased total revenue of £304.9m

United posted a loss as a result of the US' tax reforms (Getty)

Manchester United have put a half-year loss of £21.1m down to US president Donald Trump’s drastic December tax reforms, but that will not affect their ability to comply with Financial Fair Play, as revenues at Old Trafford continued to rise 10 per cent year-on-year.

The Premier League club announced the healthy situation that was expected for their latest results, as well as second-quarter 2017 revenues of £163.9m. The projected revenue for 2018 was also adjusted from £575m to £585m.

At the same time, £48.8m had to be written off accounts due to the US income tax rate being lowered from 35 per cent to 21 per cent. That meant a second quarter overall loss of £29m and a six-monthly loss of £21.1m.

The US Senate’s approval of the reform on 20 December 2017 was seen as Trump’s first major legislative victory, and the deepest overhaul of the US tax code in three decades. United are owned by the Glazer family and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

On the subsequent conference call with investors to discuss the results, United’s chief financial officer Cliff Baty said the tax reforms “should be beneficial to the club in the long term, however we are still working through the details of the potential impact of the more complex aspect of the reforms with our advisers.”

“This is a non-tax accounting charge only, which has no impact on our financial competitiveness nor our ability to meet Financial Fair Play regulations,” Baty added.

Of the results, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward said: “Our solid business model has allowed us to invest in the future of the club with the extension of Jose Mourinho’s contract and the acquisition of Alexis Sanchez. We look forward to the remainder of the season with confidence.”

It was meanwhile revealed that qualifying for the Champions League through the Premier League - as opposed to the Europa League, like United did last season - is worth an extra £10m to the club due to the way the prize money is structure.

Baty stated that United have budgeted to get to the quarter-finals of this year's competition, but added “we have still got to get past Seville.” United meet Sevilla in the last-16.