Pompey's positive account of profit amid upheaval

By Mark Catlin's admission, it was a '˜big period of upheaval'.
Jed Wallace. Picture: Joe PeplerJed Wallace. Picture: Joe Pepler
Jed Wallace. Picture: Joe Pepler

Managers coming and going followed by their staff and then the inevitable turnover of players. Yet, despite those issues, Pompey yesterday announced an operating profit for a second year.

And that progress was underlined as the Blues ended up in the black for the period until June 30, 2015.

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Scratching the surface of the accounts, which are now registered with Companies House, serves more notice of a club emerging on sure foundations.

Mark Catlin. Picture: Joe PeplerMark Catlin. Picture: Joe Pepler
Mark Catlin. Picture: Joe Pepler

The operating profit of £359,000 and overall profit of £2,000 after the second full year of trading since exiting administration is headline news.

And, of course, so is the net profit of £696,000 on transfer fees, which factors in Jed Wallace’s departure for Wolves.

That extinguishes any lingering furore over the £268,775 paid to agents announced at the end of last year, with that figure taken into account.

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Funding the failed effort to get out of League Two last season came at a cost, of course. Wages and salaries for the club’s 378 staff (39 players, 65 office and football management and 274 casual) rose from £4,179,534 to £5,109,143.

Then there’s the unbudgeted costs of settling contracts for former boss Andy Awford and staff such Paul Hardyman, Alan McLoughlin and Andy Melville.

Funding the arrival of the man charged with taking Pompey forward in Paul Cook is factored in but so is the six-figure return generated from staging the Madness concert last June and Pompey Lottery success. All part of the self-generated increased revenues.

Negotiations over terminating players’ deals is part of the ‘churn’, too. The club is quietly satisfied with the work done on that front. Catlin points out the bid for progress was made safe in the knowledge there were the means to cover costs.

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He said: ‘It was a big period of upheaval but the club wouldn’t have committed money in other areas if we didn’t know it was coming in by increased revenue streams we’re generating.

‘The brief we have to deliver is a neutral operating profit and loss.

‘Our product is what goes on the pitch. That’s our stock. When we have money coming in, we try to get as much money as we can into our product to give us our best chance of success.

‘We came out of administration and inherited a business steeped in debt and suffering huge ongoing financial losses.

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‘Everyone from Iain McInnes, the board of directors, Trust and presidents deserve huge credit for achieving our second successive year of profit. Special praise goes to our fans who have backed the club through thick and thin.

‘We are sound, moving forward and trying to get the money into the right areas.’

Money in the right areas is seen in a training ground which is unlikely to be bettered in League One and Two.

Pompey invested £862,000 of the overall £1.1m needed to for their gleaming Roko home by generating new share capital along with the Tifosy scheme.

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We may know Pompey are debt free these days but the benefit of the haste of doing so is now brought into context.

A total of £740,000 has been saved, with £319,984 outlined in the latest statement.

There is also the satisfying news of increased hospitality and sponsorship income. Sponsorship rose from £424,999 to £689,597 with hospitality up to £1.16m from £1.04m.