Arsenal Football Club - Coursework Example

? Arsenal Football Club Introduction Arsenal Football Club is one of the biggest specialized football clubs in the world and is situated in London. It is counted among top most renowned clubs in football. Previously, this club was known as ‘Dial Square’ and in the year 1891 the club was renamed as ‘Woolwich Arsenal’. Later on, the name developed into ‘Arsenal Football Club’. From the time of formation in 1886, the club has experienced several financial turbulences, and has progressed and established itself gradually as a professional football club in present days. The annual revenue of the club was almost 379 million Euros in the year 2010. The company spends huge amount on stadium development and other community activities (London Business School, 2009). The paper will describe the financial performance of Arsenal Football Club through analyzing the historical record and conducting financial ratio assessment. The objective of this paper is to describe how Arsenal Football Club has performed financially in the football industry in comparison with other competitors and how it has managed the financial resources to generate revenue (Ward, 2007). Historical Record of Arsenal Football Club The financial performance of Arsenal Football Club was quite strong in the year 2010 and the club has also experienced significant drop of debt. From the historical viewpoint, the earnings of Arsenal Football Club have fluctuated. In the year 2001, the club had a profit of almost 24.3 million Pounds but in the subsequent year the club experienced loss of 20.5 million Pounds. The reason of loss in that financial year was rise in wages due to growth in the number of players (London Business School, 2009). Since initiation the club’s group turnover has progressed gradually. In the year 2005, the group turnover of Arsenal Football club was almost 138.4 million Pounds which had become more than double by 2010 to almost 379.9 million Pounds. The club also experienced growth of operating profit in that period. The group operating profit was almost 32.6 million Pounds which had increased to 72 million pounds by 2010 (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2011). Source: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010). The low sales in the property development business were the main reason for decreasing operating profit in 2006. Arsenal Football Club operates in two prominent segments which are football and property development. Since the operating loss in the year 2006, the football segment has shown increased growth. In the year 2007, the turnover of football segment was almost 207.7 million Euros which had become 229.9 million Euros in 2009. The increase was generally motivated by new television series. In the year 2010, almost nineteen “Barclays Premier League”, 4 “UEFA Champion League”, 3 “FA Cup” and 2 “Carling Cup” matches were telecasted. The revenue of football segment mostly comes from the sales of tickets. The Emirates Stadium of Arsenal Football Club also hosted two international friendly matches (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2007; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010). Source: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010) Property development is the other section from which Arsenal Football Club generates profits. In the year 2005, the company experienced low activity in property development business. The total turnover during the year was 23.3 million Pounds which was 44% lesser compared to 2004. In 2006, the turnover of property development business had increased to 23.8 million Pounds which was 4.6 times more compared to previous year. The reason for this increase in turnover was due to sale of ‘Drayton Park’, one of the expansion sites of Arsenal Football Club. In the year 2008, the returns of property development business had again reduced to 15.3 million Pounds, because the sales activity was restricted by the yielding leasehold interests and constricting operations within the communal housing component. In 2009–2010, Arsenal Football Club had seen extreme progress in this business due to completion of ‘Highbury Square’ and sales of almost 655 flats (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010). Source: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010) Market Position of Arsenal Football Club In terms of brand value, Arsenal Football Club holds fifth position among other big football clubs globally. In the year 2010, the club had brand value of worth 215 million Pounds (on strategy Group, 2010). It has a supreme football stadium, admirable global status and exceptional core support. The football business is highly competitive as there are several big players in the market and Arsenal not only maintained pace with the competitors but also set pace in the industry. The club has experienced operating profit from consecutive four years i.e. from 2007 to 2010. In the year 2007, the operating profit was almost 23.3 million Pounds which had increased by 14% in 2008 to 26.7 million Pounds and 44% in 2009 to 38.5 million Pounds (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008; Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010). Source: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2010) The operating loss in the year 2006 was due to increase in capital expenditures. The capital expenditure in the year 2006 was above 137 million Pounds (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2006). In order to develop the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal Football Club had invested huge amounts in that year which decreased the cash reserves and increased the debts. In 2005, Arsenal Football Club was not in a dominant position in the football industry. In the year 2006, the club had opened new football ground in Ashburton Grove. As London is a wealthy place and craze for the game of football is high, the new stadium of Arsenal Football Club had been developed to take advantage of this opportunity. In the year 2004, Arsenal had made a sponsorship agreement with Emirates Airlines in order to expand its business. For maintaining the catering operation the club had made 20 year-contracts with Delaware North which costs 15 million Pounds. By considering the competitors’ revenues, Arsenal Football Club was in the sixth position globally in the year 2008 (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2005; London Business School, 2009). Source: (London Business School, 2009). Assessment of Company Performance Net Profit Margin Ratio Arsenal Football club has shown enormous profit which clearly confirms the financial strength of the club. In the year 2007, the operating profit of Arsenal Football Club was 23.3 million Pounds which had increased to 38.5 million pounds by 2009. In the year 2010, the operating profit became 35.5 million Pounds due to increase in the wages. The net profit margin of Arsenal football Club was 11.65% in the year 2007 i.e. in turnover of 1 Pound Arsenal Football Club earned 11.65 Pounds (see Appendix 1). In order to analyze the performance of Arsenal Football Club two competitors named Tottenham Hostpur Football Club and Everton Football Club have been taken that operate in the same industry. Compared to the competitors, Arsenal Football Club is less effective than Tottenham Hotspur Football Club to convert turnover into profit (Small Business Development Corporation, 2011; Biz/ed, 2011). (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). Return on Total Asset Ratio (ROTA) Return on total asset ratio provides the indication of profitability of organization with respect to utilization of total assets. The ROTA ratio of Arsenal Football Club was 3.18% in 2007 and has an increasing trend. By 2010, ROTA ratio had become 4.82% (see Appendix 2). From the analysis of its competitors, it can be observed that Arsenal Football Club is comparatively less effective in using asset than Tottenham Hotspur Football Club but much more effective than Everton Football Club. Besides, the asset utilization rates are comparatively stable then other two competitors (Investopedia ULC, 2011). (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). Liquidity Ratio Liquidity ratio is the other financial ratio which helps to regulate the capability of an organization to repay the short-term arrears and debts. The liquidity ratio of Arsenal Football Club depicts that it was quite ineffective to repay the debts. The data shows that the liquidity ratio of Arsenal Football Club was lower than 1 and have decreased in the financial years 2008 and 2009 but increased significantly in 2010 which indicates that the ability of paying receivables has increased (see Appendix 3) while its competitors, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Everton Football Club have shown deceasing trends in liquidity ratio i.e. they are facing trouble in meeting the short-term debt (Investopedia ULC, 2011). (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). Total Asset Turnover Ratio (TATR) Total Asset Turnover Ratio (TATR) helps to measure the effectiveness of an organization in expending the assets in producing revenue. From the TATR of Arsenal Football Club, it can be observed that the effectiveness of the club in generating revenue by proper utilization of asset is less but is increasing gradually. The TATR of Arsenal Football Club was 0.27 times in the year 2007 and in 2010 it had become 0.51 times, i.e. by using asset of 1 Pound the club is earning revenue of 0.51 Pound. Among the two competitors, Everton Football Club possesses higher efficiency in utilizing the assets to make revenue. In the year 2010, the TOTR of Everton Football Club was 1.22 times, i.e. Everton’s turnover is 1.22 times higher than then the total assets (see Appendix 4) (Biz/ed, 2011).  (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). The following graph shows the changes in turnover with relation to fixed asset and net asset. It can be observed that the value of fixed asset was almost same in last four years whereas the turnover and net asset have increased rapidly from 2007 to 2010. Net asset is also known as equity of shareholders which indicates Arsenal Football Club has successfully utilized the shareholders’ equities and transformed them into revenue. Capital Employed Turnover Ratio Capital employed turnover ratio indicates the relationship between revenue and shareholder’s investment. It can be observed that the investment of shareholder in Arsenal Football Club has increased along with the turnover from 2007 to 2010. But the rate of increase of turnover is slow compared to the level of investment. In the year 2007, the capital employed turnover was 1.50 times which had reduced to 1.39 times in 2008. By 2010, it had become 1.49 times which indicates the return of Arsenal Football Club was 1.49 times more than the investment of shareholders (see Appendix 5). Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) Ratio Arsenal Football Club has unstable ROCE ratio. In the year 2007, the ROCE was 10.7% which had increased to 12.2% in the year 2008. Arsenal Football Club has not achieved quite satisfactory performance in return on capital. In 2001, the ROCE was 13.9% and from then it had not progressed much. Arsenal Football Club has enough cash balance. In the year 2011, the group had almost 115 million Pounds cash in hand as well as bank which was 244% more compared to previous year (i.e. 33 million Pounds) (London Business School, 2009). Value Drivers and Key Performance Indicators From the above analysis, it can be observed that Arsenal Football Club has gone through several difficulties to get in the present financial position. The club had inadequate number of chances to raise the income and customer loyalty and therefore it has attempted to take advantage of every opportunity to strengthen its financial position (CA, 2008). The major income of Arsenal Football Club is derived from the football segment. The income from the football business was almost 225.1 million Pounds in the year 2009. The football business had increased the turnover from 177 million Pounds in the year 2007 to almost 222 million Pounds by the end of 2010. One among the many value drivers of football business has been the international television agreements. The television broadcasting contracts along with the degree of live football match coverage and satisfactory exchange rate of Pounds have resulted in increased revenue from broadcasting. The broadcasting income of Arsenal Football Club had increased by 24 million Pounds in the year 2008 compared to 2007. In the year 2010, the Arsenal Football Club earned almost 84.6 million Pounds through broadcasting. In the domestic market, the club covered almost 23 live games (4 more than 2009) and also earned one additional unit of merit award for ranking third in the premier league (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10). The following graph will describe the broadcasting revenue of Arsenal Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Everton Football Club from 2007–2010: . (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). In the football segment, the other value driver is revenue through gate receipts. Gate receipts contribute to the major portion of income of Arsenal Football Club, thus are the significant value drivers for the organization. Arsenal has experienced increasing growth rate of revenue through gate reciepts. In the year 2008, the total revenue from this component was almost 94.6 million Pounds which was 4 million Pounds higher than previous year. This amount represented almost 45% of total income of football business. In the year 2009, this revenue had increased to 100.1 million Pounds. In the year 2010, the revenue had decreased by 6.1 million Pounds due to five less competitions played by the club. The following graph shows the trend in gate income of Arsenal Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Everton Football Club from 2007–2010: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). The other value driver for Arsenal Football Club is player trading. In the year 2008, the club had gained pofit of almost 26.5 million Pounds through trading player registration. As a result, it provided additional 5.2 million Pounds in that year. The year 2009 showed a slight decline in profit from player selling, i.e. about 23.2 million Pounds, but it had increased to 38.1 million Pounds by 2010. During 2011, due to evaluation of remuneration of player registration, an equalizer was developed incompetently on player registration selling. Therefore, Aresenal Football Club faced net loss of almost 14.6 million Pounds in the year. The following graph will illustrate the the turnover from player trading of Arsenal Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and Everton Football Club from 2007 – 2010: (Arsenal Holdings PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Tottenham Hotspur PLC, 2008, 09, 10; Everton Football Club Company Limited, 2008, 09, 10). Conclusion Arsenal Football Club has faced fluctuating rate of revenue over the years but it has seen upward trend in recet times. The group has gained susbtantial profit in recent years and in certain aspects it has overperformed the competitors. The key performance indicator of Arsenal Football Club is the operating profit and total turnover. The football industry where Arsenal Football Club operates its business has high potential of growth and success. In football business, it is quite difficult to generate profit as most of the values are captured by the employees and the players. Inspite of the difficulties, the financial performance of Arsenal Foootball Club has been quite satisfactory and the club has successfully managed a strong position in the market. In order to satsify the expectations of demanding football fans, Arsenal Football Club has made huge investments in developing the stadium. As a result, it has enriched the match experinece for premeium customers as well as general customers. References Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2005). Statement of accounts and annual report 2004/2005. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/oct_11/gun__1318505954_PDF_AHplc_2005_inside_FINAL.pdf Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2006). Statement of accounts and annual report 2005/2006. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/oct_11/gun__1318505608_Arsenal_Rep_Acc_PDF_FINAL_31-5.pdf Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2007). Statement of accounts and annual report 2006/2007. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/oct_11/gun__1318505694_Arsenal_Annual_Report_May_2007.pdf Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2008). Statement of accounts and annual report 2007/2008. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/sep_08/gun__1222765802_annual_report2008.pdf Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2010). Statement of accounts and annual report 2009/2010. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/oct_11/gun__1318505919_Arsenal_Holdings_plc_Annual_Re.pdf Arsenal Holdings PLC. (2011). Statement of accounts and annual report 2010/11. Retrieved from http://www.arsenal.com/assets/_files/documents/oct_11/gun__1318409853_Arsenal_Holdings_plc_-_Annual_.pdf Biz/ed. (2011). Financial ratio analysis - net profit margin. Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/profit4.htm Biz/ed. (2011). Financial ratio analysis - total asset turnover. Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/asset3.htm Biz/ed. (2011). Financial ratio analysis - capital employed turnover. Retrieved from http://www.bized.co.uk/compfact/ratios/asset12.htm CA. (2008). Managing it systems availability across multiple platforms and locations. Retrieved from http://www.arcserve.com/publish/a/c/1/%7Bac18a7b7-9468-4161-9912-b1f80639e1d6%7Darsenal-technical-brief.pdf Everton Football Club Company Limited. (2008). Annual report and accounts 2008. Retrieved from http://www.evertonfc.com/assets/_files/documents/dec_08/efc__1229522006_EFC_Report_and_Account_2008.pdf Everton Football Club Company Limited. (2009). Annual report and accounts 2009. Retrieved from http://www.evertonfc.com/assets/_files/documents/feb_10/efc__1265113120_Everton_Annual_Report_and_Acco.pdf Everton Football Club Company Limited. (2010). Annual report and accounts 2010. Retrieved from http://www.evertonfc.com/assets/_files/documents/feb_11/efc__1297183974_Annual_Report_and_Accounts_201.pdf Investopedia ULC. (2011). Return on total assets – ROTA. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/return_on_total_assets.asp#axzz1gj33oR3U Investopedia ULC. (2011). Current ratio. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/currentratio.asp#axzz1gj33oR3U London Business School. (2009). Arsenal’s financial performance. Retrieved from http://faculty.london.edu/chigson/casestudies/pdfs/Arsenal.pdf on strategy Group. (2010). The annual report on the European’s most valuable football club brands. Retrieved from http://www.onstrategy.com.pt/pdfs/bf/Global%20Football%20Report%202010.pdf Small Business Development Corporation. (2011). Net profit margin ratio. Retrieved from http://www.smallbusiness.wa.gov.au/net-profit-margin-ratio/ Tottenham Hotspur PLC. (2008). Annual report 2008. Retrieved from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/uploads/assets/docstore/2008_annual_report.pdf Tottenham Hotspur PLC. (2009). Annual report 2009. Retrieved from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/uploads/assets/docstore/2009_annual_report.pdf Tottenham Hotspur PLC. (2010). Annual report 2010. Retrieved from http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/uploads/assets/docstore_new/annual_report_2010a.pdf Ward, R. (2007). The history of Arsenal Football Club - 1886 to 1992. Retrieved from http://www.arseweb.com/history/history1.html Appendices Appendix 1: Net Profit Margin Ratio Tables Net Profit Margin = Profit before Interest & Tax/Turnover ? 100 Arsenal Football Club Year PBIT (in million Pounds) Turnover (in million Pounds) Net Profit Margin 2007 23.3 200 11.65 2008 26.7 222 12.02702703 2009 38.5 313 12.30031949 2010 35.5 379 9.366754617 Tottenham Year PBIT (in million Pounds) Turnover (in million Pounds) Net Profit Margin 2007 29.6 103 28.73786408 2008 6.8 114 5.964912281 2009 36.7 113 32.47787611 2010 -1.5 119 -1.260504202 Everton Year PBIT (in million Pounds) Turnover (in million Pounds) Net Profit Margin 2007 -6.6 51.4 -12.84046693 2008 3.7 75.6 4.894179894 2009 -2.9 79.6 -3.64321608 2010 1.8 79 2.278481013 Appendix 2: Return on Total Asset Ratio Tables ROTA = EBIT/Total Net Assets Arsenal Football Club Year EBIT (in million Pounds) Total Net Assets (in million Pounds) Return on Total Asset 2007 23.3 731 3.187414501 2008 26.7 833 3.205282113 2009 38.5 832 4.627403846 2010 35.5 736 4.823369565 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Year EBIT (in million Pounds) Total Net Assets (in million Pounds) Return on Total Asset 2007 29.6 181 16.35359116 2008 6.8 217 3.133640553 2009 36.7 291 12.61168385 2010 -1.5 288 -0.520833333 Everton Football Club Year EBIT (in million Pounds) Total Net Assets (in million Pounds) Return on Total Asset 2007 -6.6 46.4 -14.22413793 2008 3.7 64.3 5.754276827 2009 -2.9 63 -4.603174603 2010 1.8 64.7 2.782071097 Appendix 3: Liquidity Ratio Tables Liquidity/Current ratio = Current Assets/Current Liabilities Arsenal Football Club Year Current Assets (in million Pounds) Current Liabilities (in million Pounds) Liquidity Ratio 2007 115 150 0.766666667 2008 116 333 0.348348348 2009 116 313 0.370607029 2010 142 155 0.916129032 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Year Current Assets (in million Pounds) Current Liabilities (in million Pounds) Liquidity Ratio 2007 59.3 72.1 0.822468793 2008 80.6 77.4 1.041343669 2009 59.6 89.5 0.665921788 2010 48.9 112.4 0.435053381 Everton Football Club Year Current Assets (in million Pounds) Current Liabilities (in million Pounds) Liquidity Ratio 2007 9.7 22.7 0.427312775 2008 15 35.8 0.418994413 2009 14.5 37.4 0.387700535 2010 11.4 40.6 0.280788177 Appendix 4: Total Asset Turnover Ratio Tables TATR = Turnover/Total Assets Arsenal Football Club Year Turnover (in million Pounds) Total Assets (in million Pounds) Total Asset Turnover 2007 200 731 0.273597811 2008 222 833 0.266506603 2009 313 832 0.376201923 2010 379 736 0.514945652 Tottenham Hotspur Football Club Year Turnover (in million Pounds) Total Assets (in million Pounds) Total Asset Turnover 2007 103 181 0.569060773 2008 114 217 0.525345622 2009 113 291 0.388316151 2010 119 288 0.413194444 Everton Football Club Year Turnover (in million Pounds) Total Assets (in million Pounds) Total Asset Turnover 2007 51.4 46.4 1.107758621 2008 75.6 64.3 1.175738725 2009 79.6 63 1.263492063 2010 79 64.7 1.221020093 Appendix 5: Capital Employed Turnover Ratio Table Capital Employed Turnover Ratio = Turnover/Equity Shareholder’s Fund Arsenal Football Club Year Equity Shareholder's Fund in million Pounds) Turnover (in million Pounds) Capital Employed Turnover 2007 133 200 1.503759398 2008 159 222 1.396226415 2009 194 313 1.613402062 2010 255 379 1.48627451 Read More