Manchester United may be faltering on the pitch, but off it they are scoring.
The Reds have reported another strong quarter of revenue growth, on the back of a string of new commercial deals.
The club, which has seen the price of its shares slip in recent weeks as performances on the pitch have disappointed, said revenue in the six months to December 31 rose 18.8% to £221.4m while gross debt was down £10m, or 2.7% to £356.6m.
The club said it continues to expect revenues for the full year to come in between £420m and £430m.
In what was its best ever second quarter, revenues were £122.9m, with sponsorship income up 39.4% thanks to six new deals.
Referring to the current FA Premiership champions’ seventh place in the league, executive vice president Ed Woodward said: “We once again achieved a record revenue quarter with strong contributions from our commercial and broadcasting businesses despite the current league position, which everyone from the team manager down has acknowledged is disappointing.
“We continue to see meaningful opportunities to grow our commercial business and the popularity of football on television is leading to continued broadcasting revenue growth – all of which bodes well for the long-term stability and financial strength of our business.”