16 Jul 2009Newcastle United chairman's company sees profit drop

Football Finance News | Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

There has been more bad news for current Newcastle United chairman Mike Ashley as the annual profits of his Sports Direct company have dramatically fallen in the past year.

Ashley continues to have problems selling the Championship side, with the latest reports suggesting that there is an increasing risk of a takeover not being completed before the start of the upcoming season.

Now the sportswear chain, of which Ashley is a 71 per cent owner, has announced that profits have fallen by 91 per cent for the 12 months ending on April 26th this year.

Thus, profits for the year stood at just £10.7 million, despite sales topping the £1 billion barrier, compared to £118.9 million during the preceding 12 months.

Reasons for the demise were put down to the weak pound, alongside none of the home nations managing to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, which was jointly hosted by Switzerland and Austria.

Among those that have been linked to consortiums interested in taking over at Newcastle United are former shareholder Freddy Shepherd and ex-Liverpool star Steve McMahon.

Written by Paul Roberts

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