Manchester United’s latest financial results show the Glazers did not take a dividend payment as they have previously done without fail dating all the way back to 2016..
Manchester United have revealed the Glazers haven’t taken a dividend payment for the first time in six years.
United’s latest financial results showed the board of directors did not approve the payment of the semi-annual dividend for 2023 after the highly unpopular American owners confirmed they were open to selling up last month.
They’ve taken £155million out of the club over the last seven years, with the last time they didn’t receive dividends coming all the way back in 2016. That policy has been one of the main sources of frustration for disgruntled supporters in recent years.
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In the previous financial results that were posted in September for the year up to June 30, 2022, United paid £33.6m in dividends – most of which was to the Glazers. That was an increase of more than £20m from 2021’s records.
According to the Manchester Evening News, that was because of United’s heavy investment in that year’s summer transfer window when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo, Raphael Varane and Jadon Sancho.
Chief executive Richard Arnold was asked about the dividend payments during a fan forum earlier this year and said: “Dividends are a mechanism for providing a return to investors, including pension funds and thousands of small investors and fan shareholders, based on long-term profitability.
While the pandemic has impacted recent financial performance, we were consistently profitable in the years beforehand and we expect to be again in future.
Our five-year average dividend yield of 1.1%, compares with average of 1.7% for S&P 500 and 3.9% for FTSE 100 companies. Our dividend policy is subject to annual review by the Board of Directors.”
While the Glazers haven’t taken a dividend this time, they have seen United’s total revenue increasing by £20m from £590m to £610m – a 13% rise from the last figures. The club’s debt remains unchanged at $650m (£530.1m), however.
