West Ham lost £27m for the financial year encompassing 2018/2019 ending in May a plunge of £45.3m on the £18.3m pre-tax profit they announced for 2017/2018 season last December.
The previous year the Hammers announced a record pre-tax profit of £43.4m for the 2016/2017 season but now the figures are going in the opposite direction with losses now mounting again which needs to be tackled.
This current financial year which begun in June West Ham is forecast to lose another £42m if they do nothing about it.
The losses are off the back of the £89m spending spree last summer when Manuel Pellegrini joined as manager and it now appears that the Hammers are living beyond their means.
A club insider told Claret and Hugh “We lost £27m this year and will lose another £42m next year unless we are clever, we can’t keep just adding to wages/losses and we have more than 25 players at the moment”
So, still a net 35m in profit over the past 3 seasons and already big wage bill savings made, with some more in the pipeline if they get rid of Hernandez and the last few dead-woods.
Nothing to tackle then really!
Especially when it costs our owners nothing, they take fantastic wages and have been earning good interest on what they have loaned (not given) the club, unlike other owners, who usually provide loans for free or minimal interest.
Although in fairness, think they are on the right lines now. We have a much increased squad value, therefore a much improved club value. Our owners have a great asset in their hands , which is significantly more valuable than what they paid.
So, let’s not worry about their financial woes too much. This should be another summer of investment to balance the books a bit !
A good run in the Europa League would help our ‘situation’.
Debt is serviceable as long as revenue goes in the right direction. Unfortunately, despite the move to the LS and increased TV income, Lady Brady presided over one of the few sets of accounts in the PL to show a decline in revenue last season (sadly when she mentioned taking us to ‘the next level’ I think we all assumed this would be upwards and not downwards…). It would therefore be instructive to have your ‘club insider’ comment on what is being done to tackle the poor commercial performance at the club because if we get that right, appropriate investment gets a whole lot easier.
I don’t see it would serve your purposes given you place it in inverted quotes. However, as we are balanced people we’ll have a pop. I also believe next level needs definition don’t you? TV money pays wages.
‘Next level’ does indeed need better defining but if the club is to throw out such phrases then they should be the ones providing the exact definition, no? That said, in the absence of a precise definition, the inference has always been that we should be challenging for European places.
Now, we’re not quite there yet, as I think all Hammers fans will recognise. But, we certainly feel not far off, if we can just push on a little more with player investment and trust to things like injuries and ref decisions going our way next season.
However, the truth can’t be escaped that Baroness Brady, as the CEO of the business that is West Ham, oversaw a decline (in a growth market) of our revenues, brazenly calling the latest financial results ‘a good set of results’. So if we are to focus on the challenge of debt, then let’s also spend proportionate amounts of focus on the challenge of revenue. Because the two are inexplicably tied.
It’s for that reason that it would be interesting to see what the plan is for reversing the club’s revenue trajectory because, in the real corporate world, one more year of going backwards and the CEO is out of the door. Any insight you can gain therefore Hugh/Sean, would be appreciated…
No -fans talk about the next level all the time as they do – for me it’s not looking over our shoulder every year and then pushing on to to top six. I note the TV cash is now missing Palo.LOL I’m not sure there was a time limit put on next level whatever it is. Inferences are poor but I think top 6 within two or three years is simplistic in anybody’s terms including theirs
Income from the TV Cash you reference is included in the gross revenue figure, which was down by £8m (or just over 4%) in the last set of accounts (https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2018/december/21-december/west-ham-united-announce-full-year-results). So, not sure I understand your point about it being ‘missing’?
Would agree re false expectations (45 years of pain do that to you!) but again, I think the club is culpable here in terms of ramping up expectations around the time of the move.
I was being sarky mate by seeing it excluded from your second comment. Apologies. I am no fan of Karren Brady and everything is hyped in her world sadly so I agree. But the Sky money is used to pay the wages in part or full. There was much talk of PROMISING the next level. I couldn’t find that anywhere in links/cuts but it’s a thin line between optimism and going OTT. I think they are getting there personally and investment in a proper manager and dof was a very good start. Who knows in 2=3 years and that could make an enormous difference to merchandising scenario
The great majority of fans don’t understand the financial situation , they ( we ) just want us to be more competitive this coming season and mix it with the megga rich clubs for that ever elusive top six finish . Maybe our spending spree is over or maybe not …. we have more than a few players that should return after injury which basically would be like new signings.
Expectations are naturally higher for next season . With Pelligrini at the tiller our ship just might surprise the PL when we dock and moor up in 6th or even 5th Place . We shouldn’t get carried away at this stage . We are still learning how to run after just having learnt how to walk .
COYHAMMERS
Well, good job we are selling Fan Tokens. That should sort things out.
LOL
West Ham`s share of the Sky money for the 2018/2019 Season was 122 million pounds sterling.
Enough said!
Correct and that’s what pays the wages!