Manchester United Announce Record 2nd Quarter Revenue; On Course for £500m Annual Income

Manchester United have formally announced continued growth as second quarter revenue (October - December) hit a record £133.8m - a total rise of 26.6% on the previous financial quarter.

It all means that the club is well on track to break through the £500m barrier in terms of overall revenue for the football year (July - June) - the first time they or indeed any other club will have hit such a monstrous monetary milestone.

The debt has fallen further to £322.1m, much less than half of what it was at its peak following the Glazer takeover, and the club was even able to post a healthy £18.6m profit.

The significant increase has mainly come from commercial deals, which have risen by over 40% to £66.1m for the period in question. That was partly boosted by the new Adidas partnership, which came into effect in August and is believed to be worth around £750m over the course of the decade-long contract.

Lucrative arrangements with Thomas Cook and a whole collection of other partners and sponsors have also contributed. Matchday revenue for the second quarter actually saw a slight fall (less than 2%), but broadcast revenue is up - climbing 33.1% on the previous figure to over £37m.

At a press conference, executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward spoke of the intentions to continue building at every level, hinting at further investment in new players over the summer, as well as implementing new measures to help develop the club's youth academy. As such, the announcement of a new academy director is expected in the coming days.

"Our strong commitment to investing in our squad, youth academy and the broader club are ultimately underpinned by our financial strength and the hard work and dedication of everyone at the club," he said.

Woodward also expressed a commitment to using financial gain to facilitating future success on the pitch, which he insisted remains the "number one priority".

United share prices had been steadily falling in recent weeks, even hitting a record low since the 2012 floatation at the start of this week, but now the very healthy financial report is likely to ease the slump.