Well make small profit for 2009/2010

The accounts for Motherwell FC for the trading period to May 2010 were sent out to shareholders today, and they show a small profit.

The operating profit for the club for the period was just under £44000 a reversal of the previous season’s loss of almost £750000. This was made with the turnover being almost the same with last season’s being £4.38 million against the previous season of £4.43 million.

This is all on the back of a season that saw is bring in over £1 million in transfer fees, qualify for the top six and play in Europe. John Boyle says in the report accompanying the accounts, “We have cope well with the financial downturn affecting Scottish football particularly after the revenue losses since the demise of Setanta sports.”

The next line is even more telling, “Clearly the current economic situation has place an additional burden on us in terms of attendances, corporate support and hospitality.”

These accounts, I believe cover the last season of Setanta money and before the recession really hit hard. It will therefore be interesting to see what next year’s balance sheet will show. It looks as though it will show a major drop in revenue, which would reflect the tightening of belts we have seen this season.

One other interesting point to note, there are three major revenue streams for Motherwell; gate receipts, TV and Radio and “Other income”. The lowest of the three in this period was TV money, the very stream they are trying to appease with reconstruction rather than engaging the people who put more into the game than the TV companies.