When it comes to earning profits, this sports stock just can’t find a way to win.
British soccer (er, football) club stock Manchester United (MANU -4.57%) sold off by 7.9% through 10:45 a.m. ET Wednesday after reporting massive losses in the final quarter of its fiscal 2024 this morning.
In total, revenues for Q4 fell 15% to 142.2 million GBP ($185 million), leading to staggering losses on the bottom line.
Manchester United Q4 earnings — and by earnings we mean losses
How bad was the news? Q4 net losses surged 1,152% to 36.3 million GBP ($47.2 million). Operating losses grew 10,700% year over year.
This being the final quarter of the year, we should probably tally up total 2024 results as well, no matter how painful. In fiscal 2024, Manchester United reported just 2.1% revenue growth (661.8 million GBP). Its losses for the year came to 113.2 million GBP, nearly four times the loss incurred in 2023.
Given how miserable the numbers were, it’s no surprise that CEO Omar Berrada preferred to focus on the entertainment aspects of the quarter, happily talking about how his club ran “successful training camps,” added “five exciting players” to its men’s team and “six players to our women’s team” in the quarter, before belatedly acknowledging the obvious and promising he’s “working toward greater financial sustainability” of the business.
Is Manchester United stock a buy?
And how does he plan to do that? Turning to guidance, Berrada forecast between 650 million and 670 million GBP in revenue for fiscal 2025 — which at the midpoint actually implies another decline in revenue this coming year, not an improvement. On the subject of profits, the most he would say is that Manchester United will target “adjusted” earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) of between 145 million and 160 million GBP.
This implies some improvement over the 147.7 million GBP in adjusted EBITDA reported in fiscal 2024. But the number is far from earnings as calculated according to generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and investors probably shouldn’t rely too much on it in deciding whether Manchester United stock is a buy.
Until this sports stock starts earnings some honest to goodness GAAP profits, it simply isn’t.
Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
